


i take flight (but you hold me)

by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot)



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Dragon Kevin, Dragon Riders, Dragon death, Fake Marriage, Forced Marriage, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Character Death, Soul Bond, dragon matt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:40:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofcamelot/pseuds/Leahelisabeth
Summary: Andrew always knew there was something else out there.  It was a whisper of scales on stone, the barest impression of a reptilian eye, and a hint of intense heat, too insubstantial to truly warm him and gone in a breath.  He learned very quickly that whatever it was, he should keep quiet.  His foster parents would beat him.  His schoolmates would tease him.  Not a single person listened or believed.  It did not take long for Andrew to learn one truth: no one cared about him or his dreams.Andrew was twelve years old when everything changed.Andrew's journey as he finds a home, a family, multiple dragons, and the possibility of a happy ending.
Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Andrew Minyard & Renee Walker, Kevin Day & Andrew Minyard, Matt Boyd & Neil Josten, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Nicky Hemmick & Andrew Minyard
Comments: 99
Kudos: 249
Collections: AFTG Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My offering for the 2020 AFTG Big Bang! Thank you so much to gluupor and nikothespoonklepto for betaing. Also, a huge thank you to flightyfoxart and c-dragon-art for the exquisite art! It adds so much to this fic and I'm very excited for you all to see it! Also, a big thank you to apprenticedmagician for being the best cheerleader and kicking my butt into gear when I just couldn't find my way to the ending.

Andrew always knew there was something else out there. It was a whisper of scales on stone, the barest impression of a reptilian eye, and a hint of intense heat, too insubstantial to truly warm him and gone in a breath. He learned very quickly that whatever it was, he should keep quiet. His foster parents would beat him. His schoolmates would tease him. Not a single person listened or believed. It did not take long for Andrew to learn one truth: no one cared about him or his dreams.

Andrew was twelve years old when everything changed. His day started the same way it always did. He woke up cold, frost settling in the folds of his threadbare blanket. He broke the thin layer of ice on the rain barrel and, shivering, washed his face and hands, trying to rid himself of the smell of the stables. It was always his task to creep silently into the chicken coop and try to gather the eggs without waking the chickens and making a racket. The eggs were left just inside the door for his foster parents’ breakfast while he wrapped himself in his extra shirt to make the hungry five mile walk to school.

School was warm. Andrew fought his foster parents to keep attending, not because he loved school or wanted to learn, and certainly not because he had friends or a teacher who believed in him, but because for a few short hours, the chill that had crept into his bones subsided. There was no food provided but the teacher didn’t mind if he left his little tin cup of water on the stove top to heat and he could pretend the small amount of hot water was filling up all the empty places inside.

Andrew sat at his desk, ignoring the teacher. She was repeating her explanation of fractions from the day before and he understood it perfectly the first time. He could feel the passage of time, dreading the moment when he would have to go back out in the cold. Even the promise of his one daily meal didn’t outweigh his desire to be warm.

The other children went outside after they finished eating their lunch to play in the snow. Andrew hid in the small space between the wall and the stove and dozed lightly.

The sounds of screams startled him awake and he was up and crossing the room to look out the window almost before he realized he had woken.

The sight in the schoolyard entranced him. He didn’t even put on his extra shirt; he walked straight out into the cold.

A tall man with dark hair was talking to his teacher but Andrew only had eyes for the dragon. It towered over the schoolhouse, with golden scales, impossibly vibrant against the bleak snow and overcast sky.

The other children pushed and shoved to get back into the schoolhouse but Andrew walked down the wooden steps and approached the great lizard. No one seemed to notice him: not his classmates, blinded by fear, not his teacher, standing her ground only with great force of will, not the dark-haired man, brow furrowed and speaking earnestly to the teacher.

Hand outstretched, he kept walking. The dragon bowed its head at his approach. Andrew laid his palm flat on the scales and felt his entire body flush with glorious warmth.

The teacher finally noticed and screeched at him to come away but the face of the dark-haired man transformed.

“You’re him! I’ve found you,” he said, coming forward, arms outstretched.

Andrew took a step back, putting the head of the dragon between himself and this new threat.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said, face stretching in a smile so wide that Andrew was sure it couldn’t be real. “I’m your cousin, Nicky. I’ve been looking for you for years, as soon as I knew you existed. I found your brother. I’m going to take you to him.”

“I don’t have a brother,” Andrew said, scowling at Nicky.

“You do. He’s your twin. You were separated a long time ago. But I’m here to bring you to him.” Nicky swayed forward again, but this time he kept himself in check.

Andrew leaned back against the foreleg of the dragon, feeling the solid, comforting heat. “Are there more dragons?”

“If you come with me, you might even bond with one of your own,” Nicky said, looking Andrew straight in the eye and not flinching.

Andrew considered it for a moment. There was truth in Nicky’s eyes. “I’ll come with you.”

Nicky beamed and came forward for another hug. The dragon intervened, pushing Nicky away with its head and pressing its foreleg into Andrew’s back.

“Fine, Roland, I can take a hint,” Nicky scolded fondly. “Go get your things. We will stop at your home to pick up your clothes and other belongings.”

“I don’t have anything else,” Andrew said.

An odd look crossed Nicky’s face but he didn’t do more than nod, smile barely dimming. “Alright then. Let’s go.”

Nicky showed Andrew how to climb up the side of the dragon and fastened leather straps around him to keep him from falling off mid-flight. There was a rush of air and a feeling of weightlessness as the ground dropped away from them. Andrew left his life behind.

* * *

Andrew was warm when he landed. They had flown high, through the clouds, and he should be cold but Roland radiated heat below him and he had nearly dozed off mid-air more than once. Nicky had shaken his shoulder when they were close so he could look down and see his new home. It was a tiny village surrounded by plains on three sides and overlooking a giant lake. There were a few small houses but most of the area was taken up by huge buildings that looked almost like stables.

“Welcome to Columbia,” Nicky said, helping him climb off of Roland. Andrew’s knees nearly buckled as he landed on solid ground once more.

Andrew looked around. There were people in the streets, mostly carrying things or running errands, but none of them seemed to notice or care that a dragon had just landed in their town.

“We’ll take Roland to the stables and I’ll show you how to put everything away,” Nicky said. “Do you think you can hold on for a bit?”

Andrew nodded, but his stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.

“Oh!” Nicky’s hands shot to his mouth. “I forgot. I brought you some food. It’s not much but it should help hold you until supper.”

He rummaged through his pack and brought out a small package wrapped in oiled cloth. Andrew unwrapped it to find a wedge of hard cheese and a thick slice of brown bread, crusty on the outside but amazingly soft in the center. He immediately wolfed it down, half afraid that Nicky would take it away from him before he could finish. His stomach felt oddly heavy after finishing but he ignored the feeling.

Nicky laughed. “There will be more later. I’m not going to starve you.”

Andrew said nothing, just stared up at Nicky, wondering if he could possibly trust him to keep his word. He had yet to meet anyone in his life who was worthy of his trust.

Nicky led him and Roland to the nearest stable. There were so many new things to see that Andrew hardly knew where to look. There were more dragons in the stables. Each of them had their own spacious stall with places for saddles and other gear. They were carpeted with fresh straw. The dragons were all different colours, two green, one blue, another red. There wasn’t another golden dragon like Roland though.

Nicky showed Andrew where to find the buckles that fastened the harness to Roland’s body and they worked together to drag the heavy leather off his back and hang it over the side of the stall. He also showed him how to check for loose scales where the straps had rubbed and guided him through rubbing salve onto irritated skin. They checked both wings for swelling or pain then finished off by burnishing Roland’s scales with soft cloths.

The harness required maintenance too. They checked every strap and every buckle, making sure none of the stitching had come loose and that there were no weak spots in the leather.

Andrew was pretty sure he could do some of it alone but he hoped Nicky would still help him the first few times until he learned a little more. Nicky had fed him and he didn’t want to make him regret that. The home before his most recent one had made him throw up his scant meals if they felt he had not worked hard enough to earn his keep. He didn’t think Nicky would do that but it would be better to get off on the right foot.

The stable was loud and Andrew was starting to flinch away from the noise by the time they were finished. He kept his eyes on Nicky’s feet and followed him silently out of the stable and through town. He wanted to see everything this town had to offer, but colours were growing brighter and sounds were pressing down on him and he couldn’t look, couldn’t listen.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Nicky pushed open the door of a small hut. It was warm and had only one small window in the door so it was much darker than outdoors. It smelled familiar too, like people sleeping in close quarters and wood smoke. He could also smell meat and spices being cooked over the fire and his mouth watered against his will.

“You found him?” a raspy voice came from near the fire. A small boy, about Andrew’s height, limped closer to the door and into the light from outside.

He would have looked identical to Andrew but his face was scarred. His right cheek and throat were melted like a candle and his hand was clawlike and frozen in a strange position. His right leg looked small and weak and Andrew was sure it was scarred like the rest of him.

Andrew knew this was why he was here. Nicky’s boy had been burnt and now he was useless. He had brought Andrew in to replace him, and he wouldn’t care if that happened to Andrew too. It had all been a lie.

A shrill shrieking sound filled the air. It took Andrew a moment to realize he was the one making it. He wanted to run and never look back but Nicky had closed the door and was standing in front of it reaching toward him with grasping hands.

Andrew had nowhere to run so he curled up as small as he could in one corner of the room and squeezed his eyes shut. The shrieking stopped eventually as Andrew came back to himself. Someone had covered him with a blanket and there was silence in the air. He could hear a faint sort of clinking, like a spoon in a bowl, but nobody spoke to him. He had no new bruises. He hadn’t been thrown out into the cold.

Slowly, he drew the blanket down and peered into the room. Nicky and the boy were sitting near the fire and eating slowly. They looked perfectly comfortable in each other’s presence and they were ignoring Andrew.

Andrew dropped the blanket a little more. Nicky looked over him and his face melted into relief.

“I’m so sorry. I should have thought. Aaron has a helmet to block sound when we go somewhere new. I should have brought it with me,” Nicky said in slow, quiet tones.

Andrew was confused. Nicky was apologizing? He didn’t understand what was going on.

“I guess I didn’t prepare you for Aaron either. I should have said something. You probably won’t even really notice once you get to know him,” Nicky said.

“He’s staying?” Andrew asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Aaron interjected, face twisting into a scowl.

“I’m not here to replace him?” Andrew asked, suddenly feeling completely out of his depth.

“Replace him?” Nicky asked. “He’s family. He’s not replaceable. You’re family too. That’s why I brought you here.”

Andrew didn’t understand. Nicky was looking at him with this strange vulnerable expression on his face, like it actually mattered to him whether or not Andrew liked him. Aaron was scowling fiercely, no fear on his face.

After a few moments of a silent standoff, Nicky’s face became sad. “This is meant to be your home,” he said.

That didn’t make it any clearer. Andrew couldn’t stand to be scrutinized. He didn’t know what they wanted from him and the weight of their combined gazes burned through him like fire. He pulled the blanket back over his head and hoped things would make more sense later.

* * *

Andrew wasn’t sure when he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up, nobody had come near him. He was still in the corner, blanket over his head and when he popped out to look around, he was alone.

He stood up, trying to be quiet in case they were listening for him, and looked around the room. Golden sun streamed through the lone window and he estimated it was around the time most families sat down for the evening meal. The fireplace was stone cold and the pot hanging over it was empty. Andrew wasn’t concerned; he wasn’t used to being fed more than once per day and after the bread and cheese he’d eaten a few hours ago, he had yet to feel the painful gnawing of an empty stomach.

There was very little in the room, only a rack on one wall that held pots and knives as well as dishes and other utensils, the fireplace in the corner, and a rickety table with two chairs. There was also another door. Andrew held his breath and slowly pushed it open to reveal a room of similar size. There wasn’t much in it either: a large trunk pushed up against one wall, a basin and a pitcher in the corner, and two bedrolls laid down on the wooden floor against two of the walls.

Andrew didn’t see a place for himself. He hadn’t noticed another structure anywhere nearby and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to sleep outside again. It was still too cold for that.

He heard voices outside the door and his heart jumped into his throat. He pulled the bedroom door shut and was racing for the blanket in the corner when the front door opened.

“Oh, Andrew, good, you’re awake!” Nicky said, no hint of anger in his voice at catching Andrew snooping. He was carrying another wooden chair over his shoulder and had a bag hanging from his arm. Andrew caught the scent of spiced meat and warm bread emanating from it. Aaron walked in behind Nicky, a mound of cloth in his arms.

“We weren’t exactly prepared for another person,” Nicky explained. “I’ve hit a lot of dead ends in my search for you and I had no reason to expect today would be different. Go pick a spot for your bedroll and by the time you’ve set it up, I’ll have supper on the table.”

Aaron shoved the bedroll into Andrew’s arms and gestured toward the bedroom. “In there,” he said gruffly.

Andrew took a few steps into the room and stood in the center, unsure of what to do next. He’d never been able to choose where he slept before. He ended up setting his blanket between the chest and the door. There wasn’t a lot of space but he also wasn’t very big.

Supper was delicious. Andrew had never tasted anything like it. The meat was so tender and juicy that he hardly had to chew it. The bread was soft and fluffy. There was still far too much left on his plate when his stomach started to protest its fullness.

“I hope you left a little room,” Nicky said when Andrew put down his fork. “Because we got something to celebrate.” He pulled out a little basket from the food bag and passed out something small and round.

They were sweet buns. Andrew had never eaten one before. Sometimes his classmates had them with their lunches, but no one had ever thought to share them with him.

He took a small bite and his mouth exploded with flavour, like the strawberries he would sometimes pick on the side of the road only so much better. He kept taking tiny bites, trying to make it last, even though his first instinct was to shove it into his mouth to keep either Nicky or Aaron from snatching it away from him.

“Would you like another one?” Nicky asked, holding out the last sweet bun to Andrew.

Andrew reached out slowly, half expecting Nicky to take it back and laugh at him for daring to assume he deserved to have it. But Nicky just smiled as he handed the bun off and picked up the dishes to wash them.

Aaron got up too but when Andrew stood, leaving his sweet bun sitting forlornly at his place, Nicky waved him away.

“Plenty of time to do chores later,” Nicky said with a wink. “Enjoy your sweet bun.”

After everything was clean, Andrew didn’t know what to do. It was too early to go to bed. Nicky fiddled with a glass globe hanging from the ceiling and suddenly light filled the room.

Nicky picked up a block of wood from the corner near the fire and pulled out his knife to carve it. Andrew saw it had already begun to take on a crude shape, perhaps that of a dragon. Aaron went into the bedroom and came back with a sheaf of papers. He spread them out on the floor and lay on his stomach to read them, carefully taking notes with a quill pen on a blank sheet of paper. Andrew craned his head to see a number of diagrams of the human body, the insides, and even the bones. He’d seen pictures like that in a book in school but these had labels and explanations in the margins. Andrew hadn’t even known there was that much to know about the human body.

“What are you looking at?” Andrew asked, leaving the table and coming closer.

Aaron scowled up at him and flopped his body over the papers, blocking Andrew’s view. Andrew pulled back and went to sit in his corner, hiding underneath the blanket.

Nicky set down his carving and disappeared into the bedroom for a moment. When he came back out, he was holding a giant book bound in red leather with gold on the binding and the edges of the pages. He held it out to Andrew, but Andrew’s fingers still felt a little sticky from the sweet bun so he was afraid to touch it.

Nicky sat down beside him, close but not close enough to touch. “Aaron really hates it when people read over his shoulder. He’s apprenticed out to Abby, the healer here. We have a bit of a routine where we get our own things done in the evening. I have a book you can read, all about dragons, if you want to learn more. But you can do whatever you want.”

Andrew nodded and got up. He walked outside to wash his hands carefully in the rain barrel. When he walked back in, Nicky had already gone back to his carving. His shoulders were tense but they relaxed when he saw Andrew had returned.

Andrew sat back down and wrapped himself up in the blanket before picking up the book and beginning on the first page. He read for what felt like hours when he noticed the light above him was starting to flicker.

“Ten minute warning,” Nicky said, setting down his carving, which now definitely looked like a dragon. Aaron quickly gathered up his papers to put them away. Andrew was confused but he got up too. Nicky and Aaron rushed through their bedtime routine but Andrew was a little slower. The light was flickering wildly in the globe and even going out for a few seconds at a time. He had just crawled into his bedroll when it went out completely and plunged them into darkness.

“Goodnight,” Nicky said from his bed in the corner. Aaron grunted. Andrew said nothing at all.

He wasn’t sure how long he laid awake, waiting for something to happen, for him to be kicked out of the warmth and made to sleep elsewhere, or even worse, for Nicky to come over to his bed in the darkness and show him why he was really here. But nothing happened except Aaron began to snore and Nicky talked in his sleep and eventually Andrew drifted off.

* * *

Morning came bright and early. He had had a restless night. It wasn’t like he had never shared a room before, but the last few homes had put him in out of the way places like cellars or cold and dirty basements, sometimes even stables. Andrew was almost too warm to sleep.

He was the first one awake and he lay on his bedroll, unsure what he should be doing. Nicky didn’t own chickens or any other kind of animal. Well, he had Roland but Andrew had absolutely no idea what a dragon’s morning routine was like. He could make breakfast but nobody had told him what food was designated for their morning meal and he didn’t want to assume he would be eating with them so he had no clue how much to make. He shut his eyes and pretended to still be sleeping until he heard Nicky stir.

His eyes popped open and he watched Nicky to see what he was going to do.

“Oh, Andrew, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Nicky whispered.

Andrew shrugged and stood, straightening his bedroll quickly and efficiently. He looked up at Nicky expectantly when he had finished, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

Nicky looked confused. “What an odd child you are. I usually let Aaron sleep. You might as well help me with breakfast.”

Andrew nodded and followed Nicky out of the room.

“Can you make toast?” Nicky asked.

Andrew nodded again. The toaster was similar to one he’d used before, basically a wire cage with a long handle so he could hold the bread over the fire. He put two pieces in and held them out over the fire.

Nicky danced around the kitchen, humming tunelessly as he chopped up some vegetables and cured meat.

Andrew’s thoughts wandered as he stared into the flames. He was thinking about the dragon book again and the things he’d learned. The toaster dipped lower over the coals and Andrew watched in horror as the bread burst into flames.

He dragged it back out, trying to put the toast out, uncaring that he was burning his fingers.

“Andrew!” Nicky yelled, pulling the toaster away and shoving it back into the fire.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Andrew said, curling up into as small a ball as he could manage and covering his head with his stinging hands. He flinched away, almost falling into the fire himself when Nicky put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not mad. Andrew, your fingers. Let me help,” Nicky babbled, hovering helplessly over Andrew.

Andrew stayed still for a moment longer but he uncurled cautiously when it seemed like there was no blow forthcoming. “You’re not?” he asked.

“God no, of course I’m not mad. It’s just bread. We have more. Let me see your fingers,” Nicky said, kneeling beside him.

“No,” Andrew said, testing, waiting to see what Nicky would do.

Nicky got up. Andrew hunched his shoulders, sure that this time, Nicky would get mad, but he just took a bowl from the cupboard, walked outside, and came back with a bowl full of cool rainwater. “It’s okay. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. But put your fingers in here for a little. And then let me see them. I want to know how bad it is.”

Andrew sat up straight again cautiously and put his fingers in the bowl, closing his eyes as the cool water soothed the sting of the burns.

Nicky went back to preparing breakfast, still giving Andrew a wide berth. He put everything in a pan over the fire and then sat cross-legged in front of Andrew, making sure to give him space.

“Can I just look at them?” Nicky asked. Andrew held out his hands, careful to keep out of Nicky’s reach, and Nicky sighed in relief. “They’re only red. It’s not serious.”

Andrew let his sleeves fall over his hands, hiding them from Nicky.

“Andrew,” Nicky said, his voice serious. “I will never punish you for hurting yourself.”

“I wasted food,” Andrew said before thinking better of it. He flinched back, waiting for a blow.

“It’s fine. Accidents happen,” Nicky smiled. “You can ask Aaron later but I promise I won’t hit you.”

“Why not?” Andrew asked.

Nicky’s eyes filled with tears. He pulled back from Andrew and turned away, lifting up the back of his shirt so Andrew could see he was covered with old whipping scars. “My father hit me every time I stepped out of line. When I took Aaron in, I promised him and myself that I would never be like him.”

“Is he dead?” Andrew asked bluntly.

“No,” Nicky said. “He’s still alive. But he doesn’t know where I am and the last time I saw him, he told me to get out and never come back.”

“Okay,” Andrew said.

Nicky smiled sadly. “I promise you too. I won’t ever hit you. Can you trust me?”

Andrew shrugged.

Nicky seemed to realize he wasn’t going to get more of an answer than that and left him to stir the food in the pan over the fire. As he was doing so, Aaron came out of the bedroom, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Burn the toast again, Nicky?” he asked.

Nicky cut him off with a warning look but Aaron shrugged and went to the cupboard, mixing some dried herbs into a cup. He pulled the kettle off the fire and poured steaming water over the herbs. A strange smell filled the air and Andrew sneezed. Aaron let it sit a few minutes and then gulped it down, the pinched look on his face smoothing out as he sighed in relief.

Breakfast was good, but Andrew had a hard time sitting still. He wasn’t sure exactly what Nicky did all day but he was hoping he would get to visit the stables once again and maybe help out more with Roland. He was finished long before Nicky and Aaron.

Aaron was silent all through the meal and Andrew kept stealing glances at him, trying to figure out what his deal was. He had seen siblings interact before. Most of them were at each other’s throats and fighting over toys. Aaron seemed pretty content to just ignore him and Andrew wondered if there was something he should be doing differently.

Nicky interrupted his quandary by standing and gathering all the plates again. “Day is wasting.”

Aaron stood from the table, grabbed his papers and shoved them in a bag, and ran out the door.

“Now,” Nicky said, “what are we going to do about you?”

Andrew shrugged.

“Were you learning a trade before?” Nicky asked.

Andrew shook his head.

“Is there anything in particular you want to learn?” Nicky studied him with a pensive look on his face. “I’ve been learning from Jeren the carpenter, but I’m not sure he wants to take on another apprentice right now.”

Andrew cleared his throat. “Dragons?”

Nicky grinned. “Hmm, we can take a look, see if Betsy needs help in the stables.”

Andrew nodded, feeling the corners of his mouth quirk up against his will.

“That was almost a smile,” Nicky teased. “Okay, let’s go.”

Andrew was excited as Nicky led him back to the stables. The woman who ran them met them outside. He was a little nervous, but Betsy, or Bee as she told Andrew to call her, was not very tall and sort of plump with gray hair and red cheeks and warm, twinkling eyes, and absolutely not scary at all.

“Hmm,” she said, sizing Andrew up. “We’ll give it a try. Dragons need a certain type of person looking after them, someone calm and quiet and not easily startled. Do you think you are that type of person, Andrew?”

Andrew nodded.

“He doesn’t say much,” Nicky rushed to explain. “But he’s a good kid.”

“Nicholas, shouldn’t you be at work?” Bee looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

Nicky looked up at the position of the sun. “Shit, I’ve gotta go. Andrew, are you going to be okay?”

Andrew nodded, already edging his way toward the door of the stable.

“Send him to Jeren’s place if things aren’t working out,” Nicky said. “Thanks so much for doing this.”

“I have a good feeling about this one, Nicholas. I’m sure we will be just fine.” Bee waved him off before gesturing for Andrew to follow her inside.

Andrew’s stomach fluttered with nerves but he followed her inside the stables.

“Now, Andrew, what do you know about dragons?” Bee asked, stopping short of any of the stalls.

Andrew dutifully repeated the parts of the book he had read the night before even though he hadn’t gotten very far.

Bee nodded. “And how much experience do you have with dragons so far?” she asked.

Andrew flushed. “I helped Nicky with Roland last night.”

“Alright, since you’ve met Roland, I’ll mostly have you help out with him today. But first, let’s introduce you to some of the others in our stable,” Bee smiled, leading Andrew to the first stall on the left.

“This is Arden. He is Aaron’s dragon. I imagine you’ll get to know him quite well,” Bee said. Andrew couldn’t help shrink back a little, wondering if this dragon was responsible for the scars covering his brother. Arden was significantly smaller than Roland and had emerald green scales. He poked his head out of the stall and sniffed at Andrew for a moment before setting his head back down and closing his eyes and ignoring him completely.

“This one is Brissa; she’s mine,” Bee continued. Brissa didn’t even acknowledge Andrew but she blew a small smoke ring at Bee as she passed. She was also green but a deep moss colour.

Another dragon, a sandy brown one, was in the next stall. “This is Ioranthe; she belongs to Ivor, the blacksmith. And of course, you remember Roland.”

Roland leaned out and butted his head into Andrew’s side. Andrew felt a smile cross his face, small but real. He scratched just behind the brow-bone and Roland rumbled deep in his chest. Bee nodded approvingly.

The fifth stall was empty. “This stall belongs to Tanev, the merchant. He’s currently travelling down south.”

Bee led him to the final stall in her stable. “This is where we keep the hatchlings. We have four of them right now. You’ll need to be very careful around them. They have sharp claws and they can breathe fire and they have far less control than the older dragons. Be very aware of your movements. I will take care of the hatchlings until you’ve had some time to get used to the dragons and I can see how you interact with the others. This is very important. Do you understand?”

Andrew nodded solemnly, even though he was very curious about the hatchlings. A thought popped into his head. “Was Aaron burnt by a hatchling?” he asked.

Bee looked at him sadly. “That is not my story to tell. Perhaps you should ask your brother yourself.”

“I don’t think he likes me very much,” Andrew said, kicking at a cast off scale that was almost covered by the hay on the ground. “What are their names?”

“The hatchlings?” Bee asked.

“Yeah.”

“They haven’t told anyone their names yet so we don’t know. Dragons have their own names. It is not up to us to name them. When they choose a human as a rider, they will tell them their name, but not before. It is a very great thing to be the first one to be given a dragon’s name.”

Bee led him back toward Roland’s stall. “Alright. I’ll show you how to feed Roland and how to clean out the straw in his stall. If you get that done quickly, you can work with Brissa too. She’s very gentle.”

Bee gave him a few more directions and left him to do his work. Roland got in the way, interrupting Andrew to rub against him and blow smoke in his face but every time Bee looked in on him, she had a pleased look on her face. Andrew couldn’t remember the last time that so many people had been nice to him for so long and he wanted to make sure he did everything absolutely perfectly so he could stay.

He was finishing up in Brissa’s stall when he heard it, a tiny voice calling his name. He scattered fresh straw on the floor and wiped a hand over his sweaty forehead, wincing a little at the feeling of salt on burnt fingers, before looking around to see who was speaking to him. So far in this town, only three people knew his name and it didn’t sound like any of those three.

He stood in the centre of the stables and looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. He caught sight of the stall full of hatchlings. Before, he hadn’t been able to see any individual dragons, just a heap of green, blue, red, and brown in the back corner, but now there was a tiny dragon, only a little bigger than a large cat, and it was standing at the gate to the stall and stretching its neck through the bars.

“Andrew.” The voice echoed through his head again and he felt drawn to walk toward the hatchling in spite of Bee’s warning.

The hatchling was red like rust and, unlike the other dragons who had green or gold eyes, this one’s were blue, like a frozen lake in the dead of winter. Almost against his will, his feet took him toward the little dragon. He dropped to his knees, his hand outstretched, inches away from touching it. It—no, she—pushed her head forward into his palm and everything sharpened. He could hear the whisper of scales on straw from the other stalls, voices outside the stables, and the babble of a brook he had not seen. The world grew brighter and clearer.

“Hello Andrew. I am Embre,” she said.

“Embre,” he said softly. “Are you my dragon?”

“No,” Embre said, laughter echoing from her mind to his. “You’re my human.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious, I am planning on posting every Tuesday and Friday until it's all up. Today's art is courtesy of flightyfoxart on Tumblr!

Andrew whooped aloud as Embre took a steep dive. The wind threatened to steal the very breath from his throat as she increased her speed. Even now, after three years of riding her, the sensation never got old. She pulled her wings in tight to her sides and did a slow roll through the air.

“Trying to shake me?” Andrew teased. “You’re gonna have to do better than that!”

“That sounds like a challenge,” Embre’s voice resonated in his head as she changed her tactics and shot upward with a powerful beat of her wings. She kept climbing straight up until the air was too thin to support her and Andrew started to get lightheaded. She reached the apex and plummeted toward the ground once more, stopping less than ten feet up by opening her wings with a crack like thunder at the very last moment.

Andrew was breathless and clutched tight to her neck, practically able to feel the blood coursing through her veins as she landed.

“Again?” she asked.

Andrew laughed, still trying to catch his breath, and shook his head wordlessly.

“I thought so,” Embre said smugly.

“We should be getting back anyway,” Andrew said, looking at the sky. It was starting to turn gold as the sun began to set. “Nicky sent out a full search party the last time I was home after dark.”

Embre laughed. “He loves you.”

Andrew shrugged. He knew it was true. Nicky had never given him reason to doubt it in the four years since he had been rescued from his last foster home, but he still wasn’t entirely comfortable saying it out loud or even thinking about it for too long.

Embre laughed at him again. “Someday, you’ll be able to admit it,” she promised.

Andrew shook his head and crouched low as she prepared to take off once more. He would never get bored of the feeling, the way his stomach swooped and took off with her as the air rushed past him.

He was always disappointed when it was time to land for the night, to put her saddle away and rub her down, to leave her in the stables and head back to the tiny home he shared with his brother and his cousin. Sometimes he decided not to go home. He slept in the straw, curled up at Embre’s side and absorbing the heat from her scales.

He took his time rubbing her down and gave extra care to checking her wings. He had seen dragons dislocate joints in their wings doing a sudden stop like that.

“Stop your fussing,” Embre said. “I’m fine. I know my limits.”

“I’m allowed to worry about you, you know,” Andrew said.

Embre scoffed at him. “Hurry up or you’ll be late for dinner. Isn’t Nicky’s new beau joining you tonight?”

Andrew’s lip curled in disgust. “Right.”

“He’s not that bad,” Embre chided.

“You’re only saying that because he brought you a rabbit last week,” Andrew muttered.

“What can I say? He knows the way to a girl’s heart.” Embre put her face right up against Andrew’s, the smooth scales gliding along his skin.

Andrew just rolled his eyes and put away his brush.

Loud voices interrupted their moment. The blacksmith’s son, Drake, had recently returned from military service and Bee had allowed him to use the currently empty hatchling stall. Andrew did his best to avoid him. There was something about the big, blond man that just rubbed him the wrong way.

“You, stable boy,” Drake shouted across the stable. “Grelda needs a cleaning.”

“All cleaning is the responsibility of the dragon rider,” Andrew said over his shoulder as he prepared to head home.

A hand grasped him by the wrist and yanked him back painfully. Andrew stopped to keep his arm from breaking at the strain.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” Drake said, leaning far too close to him. “I’ve had a long day. I’m tired and so is my friend. I am a servant of this country and you would make me put away my dragon?”

Andrew kept his gaze stubbornly off to the side, struggling to keep his face impassive even though his heart beat in his chest like a jackrabbit. “I am not on duty,” he said.

Bright lights crackled in his eye as Drake’s fist met his face. The tight grip around his wrist let go as Andrew fell to the ground.

Embre thrashed frantically in her stall, unable to get the door open in her panic.

Drake stepped over Andrew. “Grelda can wait until morning,” he said to his friend, leaving the stable.

Andrew lay there for another moment, trying to get the world to stop spinning. It was Embre’s panic that got him on his feet. If he waited too long, she would probably bring the whole stable down around their ears.

“I’m okay, girl,” Andrew whispered softly, staggering over to her and letting her check him out. He slid to the ground, curling up at her side.

“No way,” Embre said, “no sleeping here, not if you’re hurt. Go home to Nicky and Aaron.”

Andrew groaned. Nicky could be suffocating at the best of times, but he was absolutely unbearable when one of them is injured.

“No arguments,” Embre said. “I’m not letting you fly tomorrow if you don’t go home, let your brother take a look at you, and get a good night’s sleep.”

Andrew scowled at her. It made his face hurt. “Fine,” he mumbled. “Are you going to be okay here? What if Drake comes back?”

“I can take care of myself,” Embre said.

“Ugh, fine,” Andrew climbed back to his feet and staggered home.

A big, blond man was in the kitchen when Andrew got home and he flinched back before realizing he was Nicky’s new beau.

“Andrew, meet Er--Oh my god, what happened to your face?” Nicky rushed forward hands stopping just short of Andrew’s cheek.

Andrew shrugged him off. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Can you even see out of that eye?” Nicky asked, panicking.

“Yes, mom,” Andrew growled. “And if you don’t leave me alone, I’m going back to the stables.”

Nicky backed off. “At least let Aaron look at it when he comes home?”

Andrew shrugged and went to the bedroom to change and clean up before dinner. He peered at his face in the small mirror by the door. His eye was nearly swollen shut and his cheekbone was bruising. He pressed at it with careful fingers but had to back off as even the lightest pressure sent a spike of agony through his eyeball.

Aaron was there when he emerged and he was forced to submit to his brother’s frankly terrible bedside manner as he poked and prodded at Andrew’s eye and blinded him with a witchlight before pronouncing him fine.

By the time Aaron was finished, Nicky had served supper. Aaron’s favourite stew was dished up in bowls and Andrew’s favourite sticky buns sat on the counter for later. Nicky practically vibrated with nerves.

“Are you going to introduce him now?” Andrew asked grudgingly.

“Everyone, this is Erik! He just moved to town to take over the bakery for his uncle,” Nicky gushed. “Erik, this is Andrew and Aaron, my cousins.”

A baker? Andrew’s respect for Nicky’s latest flame shot up by about fifteen percent, although he was going to wait to try the sticky buns before passing judgement.

Nicky prattled through dinner. Erik was a steady man who chose his words carefully before speaking but he looked at Nicky with barely concealed adoration and seemed content to listen to him chatter.

The sticky buns were amazing, melting on the tongue with a burst of sweetness and a hint of unfamiliar spices that made the old dessert feel new again. Andrew made sure to nod to Nicky before disappearing into their bedroom to give them space. This one could stay for now. Nicky looked near tears at being given something resembling approval.

* * *

Andrew was awoken by the smell of smoke. It wasn’t the usual smell of the banked fire in the fireplace overnight, but wild, unchecked, dragon’s fire. He shot up, wide awake. Aaron was sitting up too, rubbing his eyes. Andrew stood and crossed the room to shake Nicky awake. Nicky whined and resisted but he soon smelled the smoke and dragged himself out of bed.

Andrew strode to the door and threw it open. Their world was in flames. Many houses were already on fire and when Andrew looked up, he could see their thatch catching and orange flames licking along the ridge of their roof. The trees surrounding their town were engulfed in flame and he could hear the dragons bellowing as the stables caught fire. Dark shapes wheeled overhead, releasing great gouts of flame.

“Nicky!” A voice shouted from across the square. Erik was running toward them, still in his sleep clothes with his boots unlaced.

Nicky shoved his own boots on and ran to meet him.

“We need to get to the stables,” Andrew said. He could feel Embre’s panic and worry like a live thing in the back of his head. Aaron ducked back into the house to grab his satchel of books and his medical bag and Andrew grabbed the last of the sticky buns before running toward the stables. Roland had managed to break out by ramming through a weak spot in the stable wall and he swooped down to land in front of them.

Nicky scrambled on Roland’s back and pulled Erik up after him before hesitating and looking down at his cousins with naked fear painted on his face.

“Go; we’ll find you!” Aaron shouted, still running toward the stables.

Arden had nearly broken down the door to his stall when they arrived and Aaron quickly released him. Embre’s stall was a raging inferno. The fire wouldn’t hurt her, but the ceiling was creaking and groaning in an alarming way and she could be seriously injured if it came down on top of her.

The heat on Andrew’s face intensified as he edged closer, trying to find a path through the flames. He saw a narrow gap and threw himself forward. He was cut off from his brother but he could see the door of Embre’s stall.

The metal latch burnt him but he didn’t care. If he could just get her free, she could fly him out of here.

A loud roar sounded and Grelda walked through the flames behind him, Drake on her back, eyes black and grin demonic.

“I told you that you would regret denying me,” Drake said. “Grelda’s hungry because you didn’t feed her. I guess it’s time to change that.” He urged Grelda on. She shot forward, mouth wide open, gleaming fangs ready to tear and bite. Andrew closed his eyes and braced himself for death.

Embre chose that moment to break free. She was just quick enough to put her head in between Andrew and Grelda’s tearing teeth and claws. Blood spattered Andrew’s face. He tasted copper and brimstone on his lips. He felt a clawing pain in the side of his neck but it was dull. It wasn’t his pain. He opened his eyes and he wanted to close them again, this time hoping he would wake up and this nightmare would be over.

Embre swayed on her feet in front of him. Grelda’s teeth dripped blood and Drake laughed.

“I was planning to kill you but I think I like this outcome better,” Drake sneered down at Andrew.

Grelda crouched low, powerful legs bulging, and she shot into the air, leaving Andrew behind in the straw with his injured dragon.

“Embre?” Andrew asked, voice wobbling.

“I’m here, love,” she said, her voice in his head already fading. She turned her head, slowly, painfully to face him.

Andrew’s throat closed and he couldn’t speak. Her face and neck had been torn open. Blood was still pouring out and staining the straw beneath their feet. Andrew sunk to his knees, barely aware that the world was still on fire, ignoring the embers that fell from the ceiling. He placed his hands to her neck and tried to hold the blood inside her but his hands were too small. Her eyes were clouding over and her chest barely moved as her breath began to leave her.

“No! Embre!” Andrew screamed, leaving the futile pretense at medical care and throwing his arms around her, willing her to get up, to keep living.

Aaron’s arms were suddenly around his shoulders, pulling him away. Andrew fought to stay by Embre’s side but a beam fell from the ceiling, nearly crushing them beneath it and pinning Embre’s wing. She screamed with her last strength before her eyes closed.

Andrew couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. Aaron was still dragging him away and this time he allowed himself to be moved. Aaron boosted him onto Arden’s back and they took off, leaving the burning stable to collapse into ruins behind them.

A great pain, like his heart were being ripped in two, paralysed Andrew and he could do nothing but scream again as he felt his dragon’s soul leave her body. A small piece of it lodged inside him, right beside his heart, like a memory or a dream and a full body shudder worked its way from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. A sharp pain in his eyes forced him to squeeze them shut. When the pain faded and he reopened them, everything was somehow more: brighter, louder, overwhelming. He remembered how it had been the first time he had connected to Embre’s mind, how his senses had expanded as they first connected. It hadn’t lasted, although he could still experience it if he concentrated. But this was different.

Aaron was still at his back, not pulling or guiding him, just holding him as his entire world fell to pieces. It didn’t help. There was an empty hole yawning open in the place where his heart had been.

He managed to stop crying by the time he rendezvoused with Nicky. Brissa and Roland had both landed in a clearing and Arden crashed down heavily, nearly shaking the twins from his back.

Nicky and Erik were both there, clinging to one another. Abby was there too, treating a bad burn to Bee’s left forearm. They must have escaped together.

Nicky choked on a sob when he saw them, leaving Erik behind to run toward them.

Aaron accepted Nicky’s hug gratefully and Andrew passively allowed it.

“Andrew, you’re bleeding?” Nicky asked, hysteria building in his voice.

“It’s not mine,” Andrew said, hollow and expressionless.

“Embre,” Nicky gasped. “Where?... And what happened to your eyes?”

Aaron shook his head. Andrew didn’t know what to do. All eyes were on him and full of pity and sorrow. He wanted to run away. He wanted to hide under Embre’s wing and scream into the scales on her side so no one could see him, no one could hear him. He had nowhere to run so he just stood there, with his loss written plain as day on every inch of him.

“What do we do now?” he asked when the silence became too much.

“I have an old friend. We went to school together a number of years ago,” Abby said. “His name is Wymack and he oversees a dragon rehabilitation program high up in the mountains. He’ll shelter us if we ask. Plus, he can always use more experienced people to help with the dragons.”

Andrew nodded. “How far?”

“We should rest,” Nicky protested. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“We were attacked,” Andrew said, voice even. “And we don’t even know why. We can’t stay here. We would be easy prey if someone followed us.”

“Andrew is right,” Bee said. “The stables burned first. Someone may have been targeting the dragons. They may try again.”

“Kinda dumb,” Aaron muttered, “using fire to kill a dragon.”

Andrew turned and climbed back onto Arden’s back. He was finished with the conversation. He was not ready to admit his fear, that the attack had been personal, that Drake had done it just to hurt him alone.

Aaron clambered up as well, this time leaving a significant amount of space between their bodies. Brissa took off first and Arden and Roland followed as she headed just west of true north.

Andrew felt himself dozing as the hours passed, but he fought against it. Although Arden had been rescued in time from the blaze, there had been no chance to saddle him. Andrew had ridden bareback before but never for this long and his legs began to cramp and burn from the strain of holding himself on.

Light was just peeking over the horizon when Abby signalled for them to descend.

Jolts of pain shot up Andrew’s legs when he dismounted and he could see similar discomfort on everyone’s faces from the long ride. Erik collapsed completely onto the ground, as did Abby. Neither of them were seasoned flyers and the hours spent on dragonback had taken their toll.

Bee handed out trail rations from a bag she had strapped to her back. Andrew held out his hand to take some, but the dried bloodstains on his hand caught him off guard and threatened to send him spiralling.

His breath was coming quicker in his throat and the early dawn light was disappearing as his vision narrowed.

“Breathe with me, Andrew,” Bee’s steady and familiar voice broke through his panic. Cool water poured over his trembling hands, snapping him out of the attack. He rubbed his hands together, trying to rid them of the dark brown stains. Finally, his hands were stinging and raw but free from dragon blood.

“That’s enough,” Bee said to the others. Andrew looked up and realized they had been going back and forth with their waterskins to a nearby stream to refill so he would have enough. “We don’t have any spare clothes so you can’t wash properly but would you like to wash your face too?” she asked gently.

Andrew nodded and stood on shaky legs. No one followed him to the water and he was pathetically grateful. If a few more tears mixed into the cool, clear stream, no one would be the wiser.

By the time he returned to them with his composure intact, they had started a fire with sugar maple wood, a tree known for burning hot and bright with no smoke. Abby was checking everyone for wounds and she beckoned Andrew over. He was mostly unscathed but for where he had burnt the palm of his hand on the lock and his eye was still swollen and bruised.

Erik was flat on his back on the ground, snoring like a freight train, and Nicky was sitting beside him, knees pulled up to his chest, watching him sleep.

Aaron was checking over Arden’s wings, frowning and muttering to himself. Eventually he sighed and plopped himself down at his dragon’s side, dropping off to sleep in moments.

Bee had also gone to sleep and Andrew could feel his eyelids dragging downward.

“You should sleep too,” Abby said softly. “I’ve got first watch.”

Andrew shrugged. He didn’t know where to sleep and he wished for nothing more than to be curled up beneath Embre’s wing.

“You should keep Roland company,” Nicky said softly. He stretched out beside Erik on the ground and snuggled in close to his side. “He might be lonely.”

Andrew nodded, tears pricking at his eyes. He crossed the camp to where Roland lay, all curled up, and lay down in the small space between his body and back leg. Roland spread his wing until Andrew was in a golden cacoon. Quietly, he let himself fall apart.

* * *

The journey to find Wymack and his dragons was neither quick nor easy. They spent days in the air with only short breaks for food and rest. Andrew had never been to the mountains before but he struggled to muster up some excitement as their bright white peaks gradually grew nearer.

The skies grew colder and Andrew thought longingly of his warm leather coat that had probably burned up with the rest of their town. He and Aaron were so exhausted that they stretched out face down along Arden’s spine, clinging to him with both arms and legs, and just let him have his head. They were lucky they were small as the others did not have the room to do the same.

The dragons caught updrafts as often as they could, trying to glide to preserve their strength.

It was quiet in the air. If Andrew focussed, he could hear a light murmur of voices from Abby and Bee or Erik’s calm voice trying to console a still sniffling Nicky.

Aaron didn’t attempt to break through the silent weight of his grief until the morning of day three.

“Andrew...are you okay?” Aaron asked.

“What do you think?” Andrew snapped at him.

“It’s just...I know—” Aaron sat up and shifted to look over his shoulder at him.

“What? What can you possibly know about any of this?” Andrew asked, wanting to shout but trying not to attract the attention of the rest of their party.

“You really think you’re the only one who’s ever lost someone?” Aaron asked. Arden turned in the air, moving them further away from the other two dragons.

“Who have you lost?” Andrew mocked.

“I lost my mother,” Aaron shot back.

“Who have you lost that mattered?” Andrew retorted, trying to hurt his brother.

Aaron was silent for a while and Andrew hoped he had given up.

“She mattered to me, okay?” Aaron finally said. “I know she was shit at being a mother. I know she gave you up. I’m pretty sure that she regretted keeping me and honestly, I don’t know if she really loved me at all. But I loved her and that means she mattered.”

Andrew was uncomfortable at the display of emotion from his usually reticent brother. They had never been antagonistic toward each other, but whatever bond they may have had if they’d grown up with each other simply never formed. If it weren’t for Nicky pulling them together at every opportunity, Andrew wasn’t sure he’d seek his twin out.

“Arden wasn’t always my dragon,” Aaron said, so quietly Andrew had to strain to hear him. “He bonded with her first. I was about seven when it happened. She had been working for room and board in the stables belonging to a rich family in Ravensbond when they brought home a wild-caught juvenile and she bonded with him.”

Aaron paused again and Andrew just waited, unsure if he was supposed to respond.

“What happened?” Andrew asked once the silence had burrowed under his skin.

“The owner was angry. He accused her of stealing, even though dragons choose whom they will and there was nothing he could do to change that.” Aaron hunched over, making himself smaller. “We had to run, her and me and Arden. She made a little money running packages between towns now that we had reliable transportation and eventually she made enough to get us a small house in Trojan. I thought things were going to be good after that.”

“Let me guess, things didn’t get better,” Andrew said dryly.

“They got worse,” Aaron admitted. “We had enough money for rent and food and even a little extra. She started drinking, staying out late, and stumbling home hours after I’d gone to bed. There were other things she tried too, herbs and other substances.”

Andrew winced. In one of the families he’d stayed with, the father had a drug problem. Andrew had eventually run away after one too many hungry nights when his supper had been traded for a high.

“When I was ten, she discovered Dragonsbreath,” Aaron continued. “Have you heard of it?”

Andrew shook his head before realizing that Aaron couldn’t see him. “No.”

“It affects the bond between dragon and rider.” Aaron shivered. “It’s highly addictive too. For the rider, it gives a sense of euphoria but for the dragon...it’s like being covered with stinging insects with no relief. Arden almost went mad with the pain every time she used it.”

“Is that how…?” Andrew trailed off.

“My scars?” Aaron asked. “Yeah. He didn’t mean to hurt me but he couldn’t control himself. I just wanted to help.”

“How did she die?” Andrew asked, rage welling up inside him so hot and thick he could choke on it.

“It’s very rare but if a rider treats their dragon cruelly, beyond what they can bear, the dragon can break the bond and is free to form a new one,” Aaron said. “Hurting me was the last straw. When she returned, he burned the house down with her inside and took me away.”

“Good,” Andrew said bitterly.

Aaron jerked like Andrew had struck him. “She should have...I wish...she should have been better...for us. I...I miss her.”

“Maybe I was the lucky one after all,” Andrew laughed harshly.

Aaron flinched. “I remembered her telling me she had family in Dermott so Arden took me there. And then I found Nicky.”

“Happy ending then,” he scoffed.

“Look, I’m not trying to make you feel better or whatever. I know I’d be a wreck if Arden had been killed,” Aaron said, glancing over his shoulder to try to make eye contact. “But you’re not alone. You have Nicky.”

Andrew looked away, uncomfortable.

“You have me,” Aaron said, so quietly Andrew almost missed it.

Andrew didn’t look back at his brother but he nodded once. Aaron turned to face forward again, steering Arden closer to the other dragons.

When they landed for another short rest, Andrew lay down between Aaron and Nicky instead of hiding under Roland’s wing again.

It was nearing evening on the fifth day when Andrew could spy a small settlement at the peak of one of the mountains. It was strangely devoid of snow despite being so high.

It was nothing like Columbia. There was very little on the actual slope of the mountains, some flat places carved out of stone and melted and flattened with dragon fire so they could land. As they drew closer, Andrew could see a cave like a great mouth yawning open in the mountainside with tiny figures moving to and fro within.

“Aaron, look,” Andrew said. It was the first time he’d spoken in days and his throat was hoarse with disuse.

Aaron squinted. “What am I looking at?”

“The settlement. It’s close. The peak without snow.” Andrew pointed.

Aaron frowned and looked for a while longer. “I guess it might be. It could be wild dragons, you know. We’re pretty far from any human settlements.”

“Can’t you see the people?” Andrew asked, “And the landing sites?”

“From this distance?” Aaron shook his head.

Andrew lapsed back into silence. It was another half hour of flight before Aaron could see what Andrew pointed out.

Arden picked up speed and the others followed suit, all of them ready to be out of the sky.

Although Andrew had seen several people wandering around the peak, only one of them was in view when they landed on a large flat ledge near the top of the mountain, a large and imposing man wearing a leather coat with a fur lined collar. His arms were exposed despite the cold to reveal intricate designs inked on every exposed inch of skin. His face was hard and cold and his hands wrapped around the hilt of a claymore that Andrew was sure he couldn’t lift. His eyes were slitted and yellow like a dragon’s eyes. Andrew had never seen such eyes before.

The man did not prevent them from landing and when Abby slid off Brissa’s back and staggered toward him, he came forward to support her.

“Abby, I wasn’t expecting you for another three months,” he said.

“I’m sorry, we had nowhere else to go,” Abby said, clinging to him with all her strength.

Aaron climbed down and, after a moment, Andrew followed suit.

The man looked him in the eye and a strange look of sorrow crossed his face. “An attack?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Bee asked.

“This one’s lost his dragon.” The man gestured to Andrew.

Andrew shrank back, wondering if his grief was painted on his face so anyone could read it.

“Besides that, I can tell by your faces and the state of your dragons that you have made this journey very quickly. If it were a leisure trip, you would not have hurried so much.”

Bee nodded wearily. “We would be very grateful if you would allow us to stay for a short while until we find somewhere safe to go.”

“You’re welcome here at Dragon’s Flight as long as you wish. My name is Wymack,” he said, turning and leading them toward the cave.

The cavern beyond the entrance was huge. Now that he was inside, Andrew could see the peak of the mountain had been hollowed out and there was a hole far above him that let in the light. There was very little to see in the main cavern itself, a few tables around the outer edge and areas for mending saddles. Five smaller tunnels led deeper into the mountain and Wymack led them down the first one on the left.

Andrew peered into each passage they passed. Some led to more tunnels and others showed small caves, about twice the size of the dragon stalls in Columbia. Many of them had dragons curled up on their stone floors. Most of the caves were open so the dragons could come and go as they pleased. The hatchling stalls were the exception.

Wymack led them until they reached three empty caves that were close together where they could stable their dragons, and left them alone to rub them down and feed them and take care of the wear and tear from days spent in flight.

Andrew had no dragon to clean and felt like an intruder as Aaron carefully rubbed down Arden. He felt the same with Nicky and Roland or Bee and Grissa.

“I can show you to your room,” a husky yet feminine voice came from somewhere to Andrew’s left.

He jumped, flinching violently away. A girl, around his age or a little younger, stood close by. She had bright red hair and a sweet smile on her lips, and she wasn’t looking straight at him. Her eyes were clouded and fixed somewhere to his left. She appeared to be blind.

“What?” Andrew asked, remembering that she had said something.

“Your room. I can show you there if you wish to rest,” she said.

“You can?” Andrew asked. “How? Um...I mean…”

The girl laughed. “I’ve lived here my entire life, or nearly. I know exactly where I’m going.”

Andrew scowled. Something about her made him feel uncomfortable. He was about to refuse when she spoke again.

“I’m Katelyn. Wymack is my father, or near enough anyway.” She started off back up the tunnel toward the entrance, and continued speaking as if she expected him to follow. “Did you want a tour first? Or would you rather go straight to your room?”

Andrew jogged a couple steps to catch up with her. “Just my room,” he said.

She was unaided by even a cane and Andrew half expected her to run into a wall, but she led him unerringly back to the main cavern and down a tunnel on the opposite side, navigating each twist and turn with grace.

“Shouldn’t you...you know…” Andrew trailed off, unsure how to word the question.

“Be running into things?” she asked, smirking slightly.

Andrew shrugged before remembering he had to speak out loud. “Yeah.”

Katelyn held her hand up to show a rune inked onto her palm before taking two more steps and pausing to touch the wall. He hadn’t noticed but clusters of runes were carved in five foot intervals along the walls. They glowed under her fingertips. “These guiding runes are carved all along the halls. Your friend Abby was the one who told my dad about them. As long as I’m near one of these clusters, I know exactly where I am.”

“Hm,” Andrew said, not exactly sure how to continue the conversation.

“You shouldn’t leave things lying around the halls though. They don’t help me avoid clutter.” Katelyn smiled brightly at him.

Andrew nodded. “Okay.” She seemed nice enough but he could tell already that they had vastly different tolerances for conversation.

She prattled brightly the rest of the way to the room but Andrew mostly tuned her out.

“And this is you,” she finally said, stopping in front of a wooden panel with the door in the center that was set flush with the wall of the tunnel.

Andrew opened the door to find a cave hollowed out of the rock. A taller man might have had to duck but Andrew had at least a foot of clearance above his head. It was somewhat lacking in furniture. The bed was a rock shelf sticking out from the side, piled high with colourful woolen blankets and pillows. A basin was carved into the wall and a tiny stream trickled down from the ceiling and filled it before draining away through a hole in the floor. A cloudy mirror sat above the basin. A large wooden chest sat at the foot of the bed and Katelyn opened it to show him it was empty and he could store his things there.

“Who else will be sleeping in here?” he asked, eyeing the small bed and the bare rock of the floor.

“No one,” Katelyn said. “We have enough rooms for everyone for now.”

Andrew’s eyebrows shot up. He had never had his own space before. Nicky had done his best to give them privacy but he had never been given his own room.

He hardly even noticed Katelyn leaving but he shut the door tightly behind her and stripped to his underwear before immersing his face in the basin in the wall. It was cold and bracing, likely runoff from melting snow. It had been so long since he had felt clean and he relished the sensation. He looked in the mirror after he was finished washing and yelled in surprise. He hardly recognized himself. The eyes he had grown up with, twin to Aaron’s, were gone and replaced by Embre’s golden reptilian eyes. His heart hurt to see them, so familiar but strange in the context of his face, knowing full well that this was the only piece he had left of her.

He crawled into the bed and wrapped himself in the blankets, letting time slip past him. Someone knocked on his door and called him for supper but he remained in the room. He slept a little, but every time he did his eyes burst open, burning from exhaustion, the last image of Embre forever etched in his sleeping sight.

He wasn’t sure how late it was when another knock came on his door.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“It’s us,” Aaron’s voice filtered through the door.

Andrew got shakily to his feet and opened the door, letting his brother and cousin into the room. Nicky’s face was screwed up and Andrew could tell he wanted to hug him and not let him go.

“I thought I was supposed to have this room to myself,” Andrew tried to joke.

“Do you really want to be alone?” Aaron asked. Andrew opened his mouth to send them away but realized he didn’t actually want to.

He climbed back into his bed, scooting his back against the wall and left room for Aaron to crawl in beside him. Nicky spread out blankets on the floor and lay down against the bed. The sound of breathing lulled Andrew into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update today. But after this, we get into the real meaty parts of the story and I didn't want to break up the next chapter. See you next Tuesday!

Andrew woke out of a fitful sleep, restlessness burning like a wild animal under his ribcage. It had been a long time since his last trip and he was ready to go again. He enjoyed living on the mountain and he loved working with the dragons, but every once in a while the itch would start and would not be satisfied until he spent some time alone and far away. 

Part of it was that he still often felt like he was outside looking in, even though he wasn’t the only one without a dragon. He wasn’t even the only one to lose a dragon. Wymack had lost his a decade ago and had somehow filled the void with family where Andrew could not. Everyone around him seemed to be moving forward while Andrew felt stuck.

Aaron was doing his best to clumsily woo Katelyn, Wymack’s blind daughter. Bee had her dragons. Abby and Wymack had finally quit dancing around each other and the doctor was spending most nights in Wymack’s room. And he couldn’t handle the gooey, icky lovefest that was Nicky/Erik/wedding planning. It seemed like everywhere Andrew turned there were misshapen ice sculptures and ribbon and lace and cake samples. The only thing he wasn’t complaining about was the last, but even he could only eat so much cake.

He grabbed his well worn leather pack from the corner and packed it with the bare essentials. His bow was still in firing condition and he had enough arrows for hunting if he needed. Hoisting them onto his back, he left the room without a backward glance. He was tempted to sneak out through the kitchen without saying goodbye but knew he would never hear the end of it upon his return if he didn’t at least go to breakfast.

Nicky’s bright smile faded as he saw the pack on Andrew’s back. “Again?” he asked.

Andrew shrugged, putting his things under his chair and sitting down beside his brother. Aaron barely reacted, so focussed was he on every word falling from Katelyn’s mouth.

“The wedding is in two weeks,” Nicky pouted.

“I’ll make it a short trip,” Andrew promised.

“Or you could wait,” Erik interjected. “Two weeks isn’t very long.”

Andrew glared at Erik. He tolerated the man because of his talent with sweets but sometimes he could be a little oblivious. “I’ll be back before the wedding,” he growled.

Abby passed over a platter of pancakes. Andrew served himself three of them and piled them high with sugar and cinnamon. 

Renee brought another platter to the table, taking the seat on his other side. She was one of the newer residents of Dragon’s Flight. He’d met her when she’d tried to rob him at knifepoint on one of his trips to Trojan a year ago. Andrew had defended himself and had barely managed to hold his own. By the time they had fought each other to a standstill, they had formed a grudging respect for each other and Andrew had asked her to come back with him to teach him some of her moves. She was the closest thing he had to a friend.

Renee’s eyes flicked to the bow peeking out from under his chair and nodded slightly before serving herself a full plate.

Andrew was grateful she didn’t say anything. Renee was always good at knowing when to speak and when to stay silent.

Allison strolled into the dining area, yawning, and sprawled into the chair beside Renee. “Morning, love,” she purred. As always, her face was perfectly made up and her clothing was artfully rumpled to give the impression she’d just rolled out of bed but in a way to showcase her best assets. She’d arrived a month ago after fleeing an abusive marriage with her dragon, Dan, and had been causing trouble ever since.

Renee flushed red as Allison reached out with her fork and stole a bit of her pancake.

Humming quietly in pleasure, Allison wrapped her lips around the fork, keeping eye contact with Renee all the time.

Renee looked away and gulped some water. 

Andrew smirked at her discomfort and turned back to his own breakfast. Once he was finished, he left with another nod to his brother and cousin.

“I’ll walk you out,” Renee said, standing and carefully not looking at the pout on Allison’s face.

“She’s getting more shameless all the time,” Andrew said once they were outside the door. “You’d better give her what she wants or she’ll start walking around naked.”

Renee rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. “She’s not serious about it. This is just a game to her; I don’t play games.”

“You could tell her about your handfasting ribbon,” Andrew said, gesturing to Renee’s wrist. “You’ll find out quick how serious she is.”

“I don’t want to scare her off.” Renee looked horrified at the thought. “Her last marriage is hardly over and it didn’t exactly end well. And you know what this ribbon means to me.”

Andrew’s own feelings toward his mother varied between apathetic and antagonistic so he couldn’t really understand why Renee clung to this memory of hers. Renee’s parents had been unable to marry before her father died and the ribbon for their handfasting ceremony had been gifted to Renee from her mother’s death bed.

He just shrugged, not sure what to say.

Bee caught up to them near the entrance and Renee gave him a light hug before leaving him to say goodbye to her.

“It’s bad again, isn’t it?” Bee asked softly.

Andrew hesitated before nodding.

“I’d help if I could. Maybe you should come meet the new group of hatchlings--”

“No,” Andrew cut her off with a growl. “I don’t want another dragon. Stop trying to fix me.”

Bee just looked sad. “At least let me fly you down to Palmetto. The trip will be faster if you don’t have to climb down the mountain yourself.”

Andrew hesitated.

“We don’t have to talk,” Bee said.

Grudgingly, Andrew nodded and followed her to the stable where Brissa slept. There were two things at war in his mind. The first was his desire to be up in the air again. There was a freshness to the air up high that was never quite achieved on the ground, even at this elevation in the mountains. The second was the sobering realization that he wouldn’t find Embre above the clouds, and the crushing loneliness of that thought made him never want to fly again.

He balked at the door of the stable. It was silly because he was in there all the time mucking out the stables, feeding the dragons, and giving regular checkups for wing and scale health. But this was different, now that he would have to fly.

Bee saw his hesitation and gave him all the time he needed to take that step. He helped her saddle Brissa, trying to remind himself that this was just another day. Finally, they were ready to go and it was time for Andrew to steel himself to climb onto Brissa’s back.

The sensation was so familiar, even though it had been years since he had last experienced it, that drop from his stomach to his toes as the Earth fell away, the snap of the wings as they extended to their full breadth and powerfully pushed away the air, lifting them up into the clear blue sky. It wasn’t until he felt the frozen bead of a tear on his cheek that he realized he was crying.

The trip to the base of the mountain was simultaneously too long and too short. Bee looked away to allow him to compose himself and thankfully said nothing more. Andrew gave her a quick hug once he had scrubbed the evidence of tears from his cheeks.

“I’ll be back here the day before the wedding,” Bee promised, “Unless you’ve already made it back.”

Andrew nodded. “I won’t be too long. I won’t miss the wedding,” he vowed.

Thankfully, Bee didn’t linger. Andrew hated goodbyes of any length, but the unnecessarily long ones were the worst.

Once he was alone, he hoisted the pack onto his back and set out through the village. He headed for the marketplace first. It was already late morning so most of the farmers and merchants had already set up their stalls. He wandered through, looking for signs of travel, low stock (even this early in the day), exotic products that were authentic and not locally made copies. Most of the stalls carried locally sourced canned goods or homespun cloth. He was about to give up and set out on his own when a glint of bright colour caught his eye.

A brightly painted wagon sat on the edge of the market. Andrew could smell the scent of spices and honey, nothing the merchant could have bought in the area. The table in front of the wagon was draped with richly embroidered silks and intricate lace in nearly impossible patterns. Andrew strolled over, trying to look nonchalant, and rubbed the corner of a soft silk shawl between his thumb and forefinger.

“Hands off the merchandise,” a low voice growled as a well polished black cane rapped across Andrew’s knuckles.

“Just admiring the craftsmanship,” Andrew said mildly, refusing to look startled or to jump back.

“Admire with your eyes, not your fingers.” A man stood, tall, at least a foot taller than Andrew. His skin was dark and his hair was tightly curled on his head. He didn’t smile.

Andrew held his hands up, making it clear he wasn’t going to touch anything else, and continued looking at the man’s wares.

“This is very fine work,” Andrew said, indicating a lace shawl so fine it looked like it had been woven from cobwebs.

“60 gold pieces,” the man said curtly. “And I do not barter.”

“Worth every coin, I’m sure,” Andrew said. “Unfortunately, I am not carrying that much gold on my person.”

“That’s unfortunate. I never shortchange my artisans, not even for a man as pretty as you.” The man winked and he smiled, flashing white teeth at Andrew.

“I must confess, I’m not really looking for fine lace goods anyway,” Andrew said, voice low.

Interest flashes in the man’s eyes. “What are you looking for?”

“A travelling companion, short term only, maybe a week or so,” Andrew said. “I’ll work for my keep.”

“Name’s Seth.” The man held out his hand for Andrew to shake.

“Andrew,” Andrew said coolly, ignoring the outstretched hand.

Seth shrugged and sat back on a stool behind his table of goods. “Be back here an hour past midday. Be ready to help me load up. I’d like to be on the road while there is still light left.”

Andrew nodded and walked away without another word. He kept an eye out for some kind of gift for Nicky and Erik, but other than the pricy goods at Seth’s wagon, most of what the market held was mundane and common.

He took advantage of being on his own to eat sticky buns for lunch and he was back at Seth’s wagon precisely when he was asked.

“Punctual, good,” Seth grunted. He opened up the back of his wagon to reveal a number of wooden crates. “Help me carry these out. You can pack the spices.”

Andrew set to work without a word, moving quickly and efficiently. Seth looked pleased at how quickly they were ready to go. Soon they were riding in silence out of town, Seth driving and Andrew sitting silently on the wagon seat beside him.

Seth looked at him often, occasionally opening his mouth to comment on some small thing by the road, but seemingly unaffected when Andrew didn’t reply.

Seth sent Andrew for firewood and set up the camp by himself. Andrew got the fire going and cooked supper while Seth lounged around, back propped against a nearby fallen log, and watched him work.

“Tell me, Andrew, what are you really doing out here?” Seth asked, curiosity bright in his eyes.

Andrew shrugged. “I like the road,” he said bluntly, unwilling to give up any more than that to a relative stranger.

“Hmm,” Seth said. “I’m not complaining. It does get a little lonely at times, especially when the nights are cold.” He looked pointedly at Andrew, a look of interest flickering behind his eyes.

Andrew looked at him, considering, before standing and unbuckling his belt. “I have rules. This can happen as long as you follow them.”

Seth shrugged. “Never been particularly interested in taking charge.”

“Perfect.” Andrew grinned without mirth. “Keep your hands to yourself.” He crossed the clearing to the other side of the fire and knelt down, pressing his lips to Seth’s.

* * *

A week passed quickly, with busy markets and quiet travel during the day, and gasping moans and sharp bursts of pleasure at night. On the seventh day, Andrew woke up, stared across the dying fire at Seth’s sleeping face, and knew it was time for him to leave.

Seth seemed to sense it when he woke. He kept shooting tiny confused glances at Andrew as they worked through their established routine.

“You don’t have to leave, you know,” Seth finally said. “I like this, whatever this is.”

“This is nothing,” Andrew dismissed him. “I told you up front I was going to leave.”

Seth shrugged. “I suppose you did. If our paths cross again…” He trailed off at Andrew’s scowl. “Do you want me to drop you in the next town?”

“You know I’m leaving. No sense in dragging it out,” Andrew said, stuffing the last of his things into his pack and swinging it onto his back, his bow and quiver on his shoulder. “I can make it back to Plenth by nightfall. I’ll find a ride from there.”

Seth nodded and didn’t try to protest as Andrew left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featuring art by @c-dragon-art on Tumblr. Give them some love [here](https://c-dragon-art.tumblr.com/post/629340269263896576/its-finally-time-for-me-to-post-the-art-i-did-for)!

Andrew strode quickly back along the path; he had a complicated relationship with solitude. Seth had been significantly more tolerable that some of his other travelling companions. He’d definitely followed directions better than most and had successfully drowned out the empty hole Embre had left behind with his hands and mouth. But it didn’t matter in the end because Andrew always ended up alone and feeling the emptiness more keenly because of it. He hated it because it reminded him of what he’d lost, but he craved it because it was in silence that he could hear her voice most clearly.

He hiked for hours, until his legs trembled and his empty stomach reminded him that breakfast was hours and miles ago. He foraged the area for edible berries and nuts and continued on as soon as his hunger had abated enough for him to ignore it.

He stopped to eat twice more before the shadows began to lengthen and the sun sank swiftly toward the horizon. He had not yet reached Plenth, but he knew he was close. By the time night had truly fallen, he could see lights in the distance and smell woodsmoke on the wind.

The lights grew brighter as he drew closer and he wondered if there was some sort of festival he wasn’t aware of. The town of Plenth was lit by several large bonfires, dark figures rushing frantically around in some kind of dance. Then he heard the roar of a dragon and the blaze leapt higher and Andrew understood what he was seeing. It was just like Columbia all those years ago. Plenth was about to be razed to the ground.

Andrew froze, legs threatening to give out under him now that he no longer had forward momentum to keep him standing. A dragon roared and it was so familiar, a cry of agony, like the one that still echoed in Andrew’s dreams every night. Wingbeats came closer and Andrew could see shapes silhouetted against the sky, a dragon in flight haloed by the fire of a dragon in pursuit.

Andrew was running before he made the decision to take a step. He should be running away but he wasn’t. That sound, a dragon’s pain, pulled him like an inescapable tether. The fleeing dragon fell from the sky and landed with an earth-shaking thud. The dragon in the air roared in triumph. If Andrew squinted, he could just make out a figure on its back.

He continued toward the fallen beast, even as the other circled overhead, blasting flame. Eventually, it gave up and flew back toward Plenth to continue the destruction.

Andrew’s steps slowed as he neared the dragon. It was still alive; he could hear it panting heavily and whining in pain. He would need to approach with caution; some dragons lost the ability to understand speech when they were in pain.

“It’s okay,” Andrew said, voice pitched low and calm to soothe. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The dragon’s breath changed and Andrew knew it heard him. It ceased the continuous whine and sent out a small jet of flame, not enough to reach Andrew, but sufficient to light the area. He couldn’t see what colour the dragon was, but the light was bright enough to reveal a badly broken wing and a scarred face.

“May I come closer?” Andrew asked. The dragon released the flame and the night plunged back into darkness. Andrew took a chance and walked slowly forward, hand outstretched. He placed his palm just above the dragon’s nose, giving it ample time to get used to his scent.

“Friend?” the dragon asked in his mind.

It took everything in Andrew not to recoil. He had not heard a dragon’s voice since the night he lost Embre. While theoretically it was possible for a dragon rider to bond with a second dragon, it was unlikely, particularly when the dragon was no longer a hatchling. There was one unbonded dragon at Dragon’s Flight but most found their riders within a few months of leaving the egg.

“Yes, I’m a friend,” Andrew said, strangely choked up. “What is your name?”

“I am Kevin,” the dragon said, dropping his head to the ground to rest on his forelegs, lowering his guard now that he knew Andrew could be trusted.

Andrew looked around for a stick or something he could use as a torch. He found a branch, thick as his arm and maybe 18 inches long, a few feet away. “Can you light this?” he asked.

Kevin obliged with an even finer stream of flame. Andrew barely felt the heat of it but the end of the stick burned brightly.

Andrew walked around the dragon. His scales were dull and pitted, signs of poor maintenance, and someone had torn up all the scales on his cheek and inked a black number 2 on the bare skin. He nearly vomited when he got to the wing. It didn’t look like it had been in good shape before, with white jagged lines of old scars like frost in the membrane of his wing. Now, layered on top of it, there were tattered shreds, freshly red, and misshapen bones from a very recent break.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked.

Andrew avoided the question. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

Kevin sounded ancient as he replied, “All the time.”

“I can help you,” Andrew said, “but not here. I don’t have the supplies I need.”

Kevin nodded and got to his feet, slowly and shakily.

“No,” Andrew said. “I’ll go find supplies and come back.”

“You will find nothing in Plenth,” Kevin said. “Jean made sure of that. And I can’t wait the days it will take you to reach Balven on foot. My master will find me if I remain here. I can run.”

“At least allow me to stabilize your wing,” Andrew said.

Kevin nodded and gratefully sank back down to the ground.

Andrew plunged the base of the torch into the ground so he had both his hands free to work. Kevin’s wing was a mess and Andrew did not have his brother’s healing hands, but dragons were quick healers so Andrew knew he couldn’t just leave it if Kevin ever hoped to fly again.

He manipulated the bones as best he could in the dark, forcing them back into an approximation of their usual alignment. Kevin shuddered in pain but Andrew kept going.

When he had done all he could, he folded the wing carefully and, removing his belt, he tied it so it could rest immobile along Kevin’s flank.

He emptied the remainder of his waterskin into Kevin’s gasping mouth and Kevin struggled to his feet once more.

“Will you ride?” Kevin asked.

Andrew considered for a moment. Kevin was weak, but riding him would reduce the trip from days to mere hours. He nodded and crossed to Kevin’s other side. Muscle memory took over and he was seated on Kevin’s back in moments.

Kevin began running across one of the fields, leaving a wide berth around Plenth. Andrew shoved down memories of Columbia and focused on holding on. Kevin’s gait was clumsy and awkward with his wing bound and Andrew had to be vigilant lest he be thrown off.

It was a long, wide-eyed night and half a bright morning before Andrew could see Balven in the distance. He found Kevin a small coulee to hide in and continued the rest of the way on foot.

The market in Balven was small and the town had no dragons of their own so there was very little of what Andrew needed. He found plain cotton cloth, needle and thread, some herbs he’d seen used for pain management, a large copper pot, a liniment used for horses, and, luckily, a large tub of scale salve.

Kevin was sleeping fitfully when Andrew returned so he made sure to move deliberately so as to not startle him. He opened hazy, pain-filled eyes as Andrew approached and laid his head back down when he saw who it was.

Andrew took his time setting up the area, letting Kevin sleep. He cleared some brush and built a fire. Then he brought back water from a nearby stream and set it over the fire. Once the water boiled, he reserved a generous portion to steep with the herbs and set the rest aside to cool.

Kevin roused from his stupor long enough to drink the tea and then he lapsed back into slumber, his breath easing.

Andrew couldn’t put it off any longer. He carefully removed the belt from Kevin’s wing and, dipping a square foot of the cotton into the hot water, he began the painstaking process of stretching out Kevin’s wing.

Thankfully, the herbs kept the dragon under as Andrew cautiously unfolded the wing, stopping every few moments to clean areas that were stuck together with dried blood. It wasn’t as bad as he had feared. The bones were still a little misaligned but they were close enough that they would heal. It would take time before Kevin would have the strength to fly.

It took an hour to get the wing stretched out, another hour to patch the holes in the membrane and stitch up any open wounds, and then another half to bind the worst parts with cotton, fold the wing back up, and secure it comfortably.

Andrew wasn’t done. He started at Kevin’s tail and polished every scale until it shone and Kevin was restored from a muddy brown to a gorgeous bronze.

His hands were shaking by the time he was finished and the sun was starting to set behind the hills. His stomach growled and he knew Kevin would be hungry so even though he was exhausted, he knew he couldn’t rest. Dusk was well and truly upon them when he took down a deer with his bow. He skinned one flank and cut out a thick steak for himself and tossed the rest to Kevin, who devoured it whole.

After he finished cooking the steak, he put out the fire, in case someone was looking for them, and he curled up against Kevin’s undamaged side, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

They rested another day in the coulee until Kevin was strong enough to carry him again. There were four days until Nicky and Erik were to wed and Andrew was starting to realize that he really didn’t want to miss it.

Thankfully, Kevin could run much faster than Seth’s wagon and it only took two days to reach Palmetto. Andrew had a choice to make, whether to wait for Bee to arrive to pick him up the following day and leave Kevin until he could come back for him or to climb the mountain with Kevin and hope they weren’t too late.

He thought about it for a moment. There were stables where he could leave Kevin for a time. It wouldn’t even be too costly. The owner of the stables owed Bee for some training she had done and gave them reduced fees if they ever needed his services.

But something nagged at him, a strange unsettling sensation at his core that suggested he shouldn’t let Kevin out of his sight. Maybe it was the circumstances of finding him, the similarity to what had happened to his own village, or maybe it was this fledgling bond that had somehow sprouted, but the fact remained that Andrew wasn’t going to leave him alone when he had no idea who might have done this to him. Kevin was incredibly tight lipped about the circumstances of his injuries and the bond was still too new for Andrew to get anything more from his mind other than the sense he was lying.

So he fed Kevin a large meal, enough to get them up the mountain, purchased a hotel room for one night, and set out as soon as it was light.

There was a chill in the air when they set out. Snowflakes drifted lazily down from an overcast sky. If Andrew had been alone, he might have waited, but he was at least in no danger of freezing to death should they be stranded.

The weather worsened as they climbed. By the time late afternoon approached, the day had turned from miserable to downright deadly. Andrew’s range of vision narrowed to mere feet in front of his face as the snow came down . It was practically falling sideways as the wind whipped it into his face. He crouched low over Kevin’s back, trying to soak in as much heat as possible from the dragon’s inner fire. It was only barely enough to keep him from hypothermia.

“Kevin,” Andrew called. “We should nearly be at one of my shelters. We can stop there for the night.”

Kevin nodded and turned his face into the wind, pushing forward once more.

“Hurry,” Andrew said. “We can’t stay here.” He clung to his back with quickly numbing hands.

They had yet to reach any kind of shelter when Kevin stopped stock still in the snow and started digging with his forelegs.

“Did you find the cave?” Andrew asked, quickly reaching his limit of how much of this he could bear.

“No,” Kevin said, his voice strange and disconnected in Andrew’s mind, “something...something is here.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Andrew said. “We have to keep going.”

Kevin ignored him, their bond still incomplete and fragile. “I found a boy,” he said.

Andrew sat up and dropped off Kevin’s back into the knee high snow. He waded laboriously to Kevin’s head and saw that the dragon had indeed found someone. He was dressed in flimsy clothes and his skin was blue with cold. He had fiery red hair in curls atop his head and Andrew hated himself for noticing that this stranger was very attractive.

His hands were too cold to feel for a pulse and when he bent his head in close, he could feel no breath from the stranger’s lungs. When he pressed his head to his chest, he could hear a stuttering sluggish beat. This stranger was alive but not for long if he stayed out here in the storm.

Andrew hoisted the stranger over his shoulder and struggled back to Kevin’s side. Thankfully the boy was not very heavy or Andrew never would have been able to get him onto Kevin’s back. He curled around him to keep him from falling into the snow and told Kevin to hurry to the cave.

The stranger’s heart was still beating by the time they found the cave and Andrew wasted no time in saving his life.

The cave was one that he often used on hunting trips and Andrew had made sure it was stocked with a couple days worth of food, a spare set of clothes, and several thick, heavy furs, one of which could be pulled across the entrance to seal the heat in. There was also an abundance of dry wood and a sootstained hole in the ceiling to provide ventilation for a fire. With dragon’s fire, there was no need for tinder so he stacked some medium sized branches in a square shape and Kevin breathed a fire to life.

He braved the cold a little longer to dig up a portion of the meat from his last hunting trip that he had buried outside the cave and he gave it to Kevin.

He then turned to the stranger. His clothes were thin as paper and soaking wet. They weren’t doing much more than stealing what little warmth he had left. Andrew stripped him. He couldn’t help seeing several nasty scars scattered over his skin and he turned away, feeling guilty about discovering something this stranger had not consented to show him.

He wrapped the stranger in another fur and settled him against Kevin’s side. He was suddenly very glad that he found Kevin. If there was no dragon, Andrew would be forced to use his own body heat to warm the stranger up and he was not sure he could handle that right now. He was fine with allowing people close for brief moments of pleasure, so long as they let him control the situation, but the thought of pressing skin against the other’s scars without permission made Andrew want to throw up.

He deliberately stopped himself from fussing around the stranger and dug through his cache to find a big copper pot. He wrestled the bone, now chewed clean of meat, away from Kevin and placed it in the bottom of the pot before filling it with clean snow and setting it over the fire to make broth. That done, he settled down to wait.

He was getting bored sitting still and watching the stranger sleep and eventually he spread out another fur on the floor to get his own rest. It didn’t seem like the stranger was going to wake up any time soon.

* * *

Andrew dozed for a few hours but his eyes popped open quickly when he heard a change in the stranger’s breathing. It had been deep and even since he had settled but there was a hitch before the breathing evened out, this time in a pretence of sleep.

Andrew stood, pulled his hood up to hide his face in shadows, and silently walked over to where the stranger slept. “I know you’re awake.”

The man’s eyes opened suddenly and he flinched away from Andrew, light coloured eyes wide in the firelight.

“I don’t have anything worth stealing,” the stranger said, pulling his arms out from under the fur to defend himself.

Andrew snorted. “I don’t intend to rob you. But I do need to know what the hell you’re doing on my mountain.”

“I’m lost,” the stranger said, refusing to look at Andrew.

“You’re expecting me to believe you stumbled halfway up a mountain in a snowstorm?” Andrew asked incredulously.

“It’s what happened,” the man protested.

Andrew sighed and pulled his hood down.

The stranger scrambled away from him and pressed into Kevin’s side. “What are you?”

“Andrew,” he replied.

Fear was replaced by anger on the stranger’s face. “That’s not what I asked,” he accused.

“I know,” Andrew replied, “but whether you’re an idiot or a liar, that’s all I intend to share. Tell me yours.”

The stranger closed his eyes briefly before looking around at their shelter and continuing to avoid Andrew’s gaze.

Anger flared in Andrew’s gut but he didn’t let it show. “It isn’t advanced alchemy; tell me your name.”

“Neil. I’m Neil,” he said.

“Neil,” Andrew replied, raising his eyebrow. He wasn’t certain he believed this stranger was telling the truth and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to push further or not.

Neil finally met his gaze, still fearful but with a noticeable stubbornness that Andrew couldn’t help find intriguing.

“Interesting,” Andrew said, turning his back on Neil to tend the fire. “Kevin hasn’t eaten you yet, so you can’t be all bad.”

Neil shot upright and scrambled away from Kevin, eyes wide with fright.

Kevin looked Neil up and down. “Not enough meat on the bones,” he said to Andrew. “He’d probably taste awful.” He immediately closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

“I told you,” Andrew said. “He isn’t going to eat you. He doesn’t like to play with his food.”

Neil looked skeptical. He stayed away from Kevin, cataloguing everything with a wary eye.

Andrew knew exactly what he was seeing, the scars, the past neglect, the injuries old and new, the mark of ownership inked onto his face. He only hoped he could also see the evidence of healing and a good meal.

Whatever Neil saw, it wasn’t enough to reassure him he was safe. He began to edge his way toward the entrance of the cave. He dropped the fur a little but pulled it tighter around himself when he realized he was unclothed underneath it. It didn’t seem to change his determination to leave, even as he began shivering again.

Andrew rolled his eyes, turning to check on the broth. It was still a little weak but he could see the hollows under Neil’s cheekbones and before he had looked away, he saw he could count every rib, so it probably was better if the broth wasn’t too rich.

“The storm has grown worse since I found you out there,” Andrew said, careful not to look at Neil so he didn’t spook him. “Snow so thick you can’t see an inch in front of your face, and the wind is strong enough to blow you right off the mountain. You will die.”

Neil stopped moving toward the door but he didn’t return to the fire, even as his teeth started chattering.

Andrew intended to leave him be, to ignore him until he made his own decision, but Neil seemed content to freeze by the cave entrance.

“Gods, you’re such a martyr. Kevin isn’t good for much but he makes an excellent heat source,” Andrew said.

Kevin rumbled a little in protest but he didn’t bother to raise his head again.

Neil hesitated and Andrew wondered what more he would have to do to convince him to sit down and get warm. Eventually he moved back to where he had woken up and settled in at Kevin’s side, face relaxing just a little when Kevin didn’t acknowledge his existence.

Andrew scooped out a bowl of broth and handed it to Neil. Neil accepted it with shaking hands and wrapped his fingers around the bowl, relaxing even further as he stopped shivering.

He could see Neil fighting sleep but eventually his exhaustion seemed to catch up with him and his eyes slid shut. Andrew just managed to rescue the bowl from his lax fingers before it fell to the ground.

Neil slept for hours. The whistling wind outside the cave died down and, when Andrew got up to check, the night and the storm were over, giving way to a crisp, cold morning.

Neil was still sleeping deeply, so deeply he didn’t notice Andrew puttering around, putting out the fire, or setting out his spare set of clothes for Neil to wear. He didn’t even notice when Andrew put a hand behind his head and lifted him so Kevin could slide out from behind him.

Andrew was tempted to just leave. He’d already done a lot by saving Neil from the cold and providing him with supplies, but something nagged at him. Neil was no ordinary traveller who had gotten lost on the mountain. He was running from something and Andrew would wager he had nothing and no one to run to.

He still remembered what it was to find a home at Dragon’s Flight and he already knew he was going to offer Neil the same opportunity.

Kevin was slow and sore and it took some time for him to lumber out of the cave and into the cold. Even if Neil had already woken, Kevin was not ready to carry them up the mountain. He started slow, leading Kevin through a series of stretches to prepare for the last bit of their journey. With the number of old injuries the dragon had, he should have been familiar with the forms. Rage bubbled up in Andrew as he realized Kevin had never been taught how to move to protect healing muscle and bone.

Andrew removed the bindings on his wing to see how it was healing. He had Kevin slowly work through the full range of motion until the wing was fully extended. Kevin’s eyes grew glassy with pain and he started to tremble. Andrew could feel the new connection formed between their minds flickering, seeing glimpses of Kevin’s past and the abuse he had suffered.

He signalled Kevin with a whistle to fold his wings once more but Kevin was too far gone and misunderstood the command. With a powerful beat of his wings, he lifted into the air. He was able to maintain a clumsy hovering using his good wing to overcompensate for the injured one, a clear sign he had been forced to push beyond the pain before.

Kevin couldn’t maintain it for long and landed heavily in front of Andrew.

Andrew did not waste any time; he rushed forward and grasped Kevin’s jaw, holding his trembling head still so he could focus. He pressed his forehead to Kevin’s nose to strengthen the connection between their minds.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Kevin was repeating, the fear in his voice sounding so wrong from such a powerful creature.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Andrew replied, doing his best to push assurance and safety through the bond they shared. “I will not punish you for taking time to recover. You deserve to be taken care of. You deserve to find relief from your pain.”

Kevin seemed unsure but he submitted as Andrew bound his wing once more. Thankfully he hadn’t done too much damage by attempting to fly.

As Andrew secured the wing to Kevin’s side, he realized they were no longer alone. Neil had been watching from a safe distance.

“Neil,” he said, without turning to look.

Neil hesitated, his feet making no sound, but eventually he walked over to join Andrew at Kevin’s side.

“Kevin still has not recovered enough to bear a rider,” Andrew said. “We’ll have to walk.”

“Walk?” Neil asked.

“To Dragon’s Flight. It’s up the mountain; we can reach it by nightfall if we push through,” Andrew replied.

“You want me to come with you?” Neil asked. His voice sounded strange.

Andrew finally turned to look at him. The look on Neil’s face was complex, a mixture of hope and wary mistrust.

“Was I wrong?” Andrew asked, letting his skepticism bleed through. “You weren’t running away from something?”

Neil opened his mouth to speak but he shut it again without arguing. He shrugged instead.

Andrew turned back to Kevin. He hadn’t had a chance to look at Kevin’s uninjured wing and he could see more scars. He pulled the liniment out of his pack and worked some into the scar tissue. Kevin huffed out smoke a few times but he stoically endured Andrew’s treatment.

Andrew didn’t bother speaking as he packed everything onto Kevin’s back and they began their hike. He didn’t look behind to see if Neil followed, making sure he knew he had a choice, but he could hear his footsteps.

They walked straight through the day. For all that Neil’s old clothes were fine, he did not complain at the long journey. Even so, his feet were dragging by the time they arrived and Andrew could see a look of relief on his face when he saw Dragon’s Flight.

Aaron was the first person to greet them. “I didn’t realize you were bringing a guest.”

“What the fuck?” Neil asked, looking back and forth between him and his twin. Andrew knew what they looked like, even though Aaron’s scars and Andrew’s eyes meant they were no longer identical.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Andrew. Shouldn’t you have asked someone before bringing a stranger here?” Aaron scowled at him.

“It’s my business,” Andrew growled. “I’ll let you keep your tongue if you mind your own.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, not at all cowed by the familiar threat. “It’s not me you need to worry about. It’ll be Nicky when he realizes you brought another guest for the wedding without any warning.”

Aaron was speaking again but Andrew ignored him. He could see a familiar look on Neil’s face and his stomach twisted as he realized what was happening.

Neil moved, his feet dragged along by a compulsion he could not refuse. He walked quickly down the tunnel toward the caves where the dragon’s stayed. He bypassed the fledgelings entirely, heading straight for Matt’s enclosure. Matt was jet black with great curving horns on his head, the largest dragon in Dragon’s Flight. He was unusual in that he had been raised there and had grown to adulthood without bonding with anyone. Most dragons either found someone or returned to the wild in adolescence. .

Neil did not seem to be afraid. He walked right up to Matt with his right hand outstretched. He paused there for a moment before leaning forward and pressing his forehead to Matt’s nose. Andrew envied him at that moment. He remembered when he had bonded with Embre, what it was like to have the assurance that he was no longer alone in the world.

When Neil turned back to look at them, he was dazed and a small, soft smile just curved his lips.

Gossip spread quickly in Dragon Flight and it wasn’t long before Andrew’s friends and family showed up, watching openmouthed. Neil shrunk back from them and closer to Matt.

Andrew ignored the people around them. He stepped forward and looked closer at Neil. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “Hmm. Interesting,” he said before turning and walking away. “Supper will be ready soon,” he said, calling over his shoulder, once again trusting Neil to follow.

After getting Neil settled at the table with the assurance he’d be fed and looked after, Andrew turned his attention back to Kevin. He could feel Aaron and Nicky’s eyes on him and he knew they were waiting to pounce. He had gone for a quick trip to shake the wanderlust and had returned with a brand new dragon and an admittedly attractive stranger.

He took his time settling Kevin in one of the empty stalls, again burnishing his scales until they shone. He also checked his feet and claws for blisters or cuts from the long walk. Finally, he gestured for Aaron to join him in the stall to take a look at Kevin’s injured wing.

Aaron opened his mouth to ask questions but Andrew cut him off. “Later,” he said. “First, you need to fix him.

Aaron rolled his eyes but complied. “I’ll need more room to inspect the whole wing,” he said.

Andrew thought for a moment, directing it toward Kevin. “Can you come back out into the main cavern?”

Kevin slowly got to his feet, the long journey having caught up to him the moment he allowed himself to rest, and followed them silently.

Aaron led them through the tunnel into the main cave and gestured for Kevin to lay down again in the centre. Carefully, he cut the bindings from Kevin’s wing and stretched it out to its full capacity. Kevin whined and blew smoke as his wounds were revealed. Andrew stood at his head to comfort him.

Aaron frowned as he felt along the delicate bones in the wing. “Some of the bones are still a little misaligned.”

Andrew felt guilt hit him like a blow to the stomach. “I tried—” he started.

“I can tell,” Aaron interrupted him. “It was a bad injury. Your intervention means he will fly again. There was some loss of circulation from the initial wound but you restored blood flow to the wing. Even if I’d seen him sooner, I could not have shortened his recovery.” He placed his hands on the center of the wound, his palms glowing, and held them there until Kevin huffed out a large billow of smoke and relaxed into the ground. “I’ve dulled some of the pain but the healing is well begun. It will take time to strengthen the bones and restore the wing. I’ll have Katelyn bring you a salve to keep the membrane soft but you should be able to start him on some wing strengthening exercises in the next few days.

Andrew nodded, relaxing now that he couldn’t feel Kevin’s distress like a sharp throb behind his eyebrow. He helped Kevin retract his wing, this time without its binding, and resettled him in his stall.

He was silent as Aaron followed him to his room. Nicky joined them on the way. Finally, he turned to face them. “Surprise?” he said weakly.


	5. Chapter 5

The day of Nicky’s wedding dawned clear and cold. Andrew wanted nothing more than to solve the mystery that was Neil but he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the redhead as he spent most of his time since returning trying to keep Nicky from going completely mad from stress.

“I can’t believe we’re finally doing it!” Nicky said, trying to pull Andrew into a tight hug for probably the fiftieth time that day.

“Me neither,” Andrew rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you two been married for like four years?”

Nicky rolled his eyes. “We’ve only been together for three and a half.”

“Still, you’re not exactly changing much with this wedding,” Aaron grumbled. “It’s just a waste of time and effort.”

“So you’re saying you don’t want to make a big deal out of it when you finally marry Katelyn?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, staring coolly at his brother.

Aaron flushed beet red and glared back. “We’re not even dating.”

“And why not?” Nicky asked. “You spend all your time with her and you’re so obviously smitten.”

“Do we have to talk about this right now?” Aaron whined. “Isn’t it your big day? Why are you focusing on me?”

“Because I am so fucking happy,” Nicky said, planting a sloppy kiss on Aaron’s cheek. “And so obviously I want my cousins to experience the same happiness. Speaking of: cute frozen redhead, what’s the deal with him?”

Andrew’s features didn’t twitch but he could feel the tell-tale heat of a blush blooming on his cheeks. “There’s no deal. Either I brought him here or I left him to die. Why do I need to have an ulterior motive?”

Nicky sighed and turned back to the mirror, adding a stripe of bright blue pigment to his eyelid. “He’s pretty cute though, and I know there is no one on the mountain for you. You could wait and see what happens.”

“Do you actually need my help for anything?” Andrew said, standing to leave. “Because if you don’t, I’m not going to stay here and listen to this.”

“No,” Nicky pouted. “Don’t leave. I need my family here.”

Andrew rolled his eyes and sat back down, slouching and folding his arms. He did actually want to support Nicky but his cousin didn’t need to know that.

Finally, the time arrived for the wedding to begin. The ceremony was to take place in the central cavern when the sun was directly overhead. Chairs were set up in the center of the cavern and the dragons, including Kevin, all had places behind the altar. Renee played a tune on her pipe, accompanied by Katelyn on the dulcimer. Andrew and Aaron walked out together and stood on each side of the altar. Nicky and Erik met at the top of the aisle and linked arms before slowly walking to the altar, where Wymack was waiting for them.

“Welcome everyone as we witness the joining of Nicky and Erik,” Wymack said.

Andrew tried to pay attention but his mind wandered. Neil sat near the back of the cavern, just inside the circle of sunlight. He had bathed and someone, probably Katelyn, had found him something nice to wear in royal blue. His hair caught the light, reminding Andrew of Embre’s fire.

He was pulled back to the present by a loud cheer. He hoped no one noticed that it took him a moment to start clapping. The couple stepped forward, bound hands trapped between them, and kissed tenderly. Nicky looked back at him when they broke apart and Andrew gifted him with one of his rare smiles.

“This bond that we witness today, let nothing break.” Wymack announced, signalling the dragons.

They pointed their heads to the sky and let out a huge sheet of flame in celebration. Andrew could feel the heat of it. It was an exquisite sight, the blues, reds, and golds mingling in dancing light overhead.

Something drew him once again to look at Neil, who was gazing upward, mouth open and awestruck. Andrew had to force himself to look away.

“Let’s drink!” Wymack shouted. All the guests dissolved into laughter and soon the chairs were moved aside and replaced by long tables, groaning under the weight of the wedding feast. The dragons returned to their stalls to be treated with their own feasts.

Andrew ate until he was stuffed, skipping most of the main course and gorging himself on wedding cake. Gradually, everyone around him got sloppily drunk. Wymack made about six speeches, hinting not so subtly how much he was hoping his daughter’s wedding would be this beautiful.

Aaron started out a little red and kept getting redder, but he seemed to grow bolder when Katelyn giggled at her dad’s antics and leaned closer to him.

Andrew had kept an eye on Neil throughout the dinner. He had been trapped between Renee and Allison and looked more and more uncomfortable as the evening wore on. Allison didn’t have a lot of respect for personal space when sober and now, at least five drinks in, she was draped over the newcomer while trying to catch Renee’s attention.

“It’s my wedding and I want to dance,” Nicky shouted, pulling himself to his feet, so drunk he had to catch himself on the back of Erik’s chair.

The tables, still well-laden with an abundance of food, were shoved off to the side and Renee pulled out her pipe again. Katelyn would have joined her on the dulcimer but, in a rare show of bravery, Aaron was the first to follow Nicky onto the dance floor, a blushing Katelyn in tow.

Andrew looked around; no one was looking at him and it was likely it wouldn’t be noticed if he left. He looked over to Neil, planning to give him an out, but the other man was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed in relief as he left the noise and bustle of the party behind. He’d endured it as long as he could for Nicky’s sake, but he was rapidly reaching the end of his tolerance for human companionship.

He checked briefly on Kevin. The dragon had finished his meal and immediately gone to sleep. Andrew didn’t want to wake him and wasn’t sure if their brand new bond would allow him to approach the dragon when he wasn’t aware. He stood in the tunnel outside the stall and listened to Kevin breathe. He didn’t seem to be in any pain and he had dropped his guard enough to fall into a deep sleep. A small noise pulled Andrew out of his thoughts and he walked over to investigate.

The lamp across from Matt’s stall had been blown out and Andrew could see nothing but inky blackness within.

“Neil?” Andrew asked.

Matt’s head appeared like a shadow against the blackness and he blew a puff of smoke into Andrew’s face: a warning, though not a violent one.

“I just want to talk,” Andrew said.

Matt’s head withdrew and Neil appeared out from under his wing, hair mussed from exiting his hiding place.

Neil looked defensive but Andrew couldn’t judge him for escaping. He knew these people— he even loved some of them— and he still found them a bit much.

“What do you want?” Neil asked.

Andrew paused, unsure of what to say next. He finally settled on bluntly asking. He’d never had the patience or the finesse to dance around the point. “Who are you running from?”

Neil flinched back, obviously not expecting this approach. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Andrew.

Andrew knew the next words out of this man’s mouth were going to be a lie.

“No one. I got lost,” Neil said.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Wrong answer; try again.”

Neil glared. “Why do you want to know.”

Andrew stepped a little closer, uncaring that Neil was shrinking away again. Matt’s head wormed its way between them with a hiss.

Neil put his hand on the back of Matt’s neck and visibly relaxed. He looked up and down the deserted hallway. “Not out here; it’s too exposed.”

Andrew rolled his eyes but followed Neil back into Matt’s stall. Neil sat on one side, Matt’s head draped across his lap, and Andrew sat against the opposite wall. He didn’t say another word, waiting for Neil to make the choice.

“I...didn’t want to get married,” Neil said, so quietly Andrew had to strain to hear him over the sound of Matt’s purr.

Andrew almost burst out laughing. It wasn’t what he expected at all. With the scars and the haunted look in his eyes, he’d half been expecting him to be a runaway slave fleeing an abusive master. “Cold feet,” he said flatly. “You almost died on a mountain because you had cold feet.”

Neil’s eyes shot up to meet Andrew’s, fire blazing in them. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t choose it. It was political more than anything. He was marrying an army and I was marrying a monster.”

Andrew knew all about monsters; the urge to laugh faded. “Who is he, your betrothed?”

Real fear crossed Neil’s face. “I’ve told you too much already. I shouldn’t even be here.”

Andrew didn’t want to let it go but he could see Neil practically shutting down in front of him and Matt was growing agitated. He had the sense that if he pushed, he might end up with a face full of flame. He stood and edged out of the stall, carefully keeping distance between himself and Matt.

“This isn’t over,” he said. “This is my home and these people are my family. If you pose a threat, I will find out and I will stop you.”

Neil said nothing, staring at Andrew until he left.

Andrew considered going back to the party but he had had enough of people for the night. His two week trip had barely been enough to quiet the itch under his skin and he thought it wouldn’t be long before he had to leave again.

* * *

Andrew slept in the next morning. By the time he wandered out into the central cavern, the sun was high overhead. Even so, there were only a few others who had already begun their day. A pale and drawn Abby had heated up some of the leftovers for breakfast. Renee had spread out her saddle in the sun at the center of the cavern and was cheerfully making repairs to some of the stitching. There was no sign of the newlyweds and Andrew was not at all surprised.

“Is Neil around?” he asked Abby as he filled his plate.

Abby shrugged. “He didn’t stop in for breakfast.”

Andrew nodded. Instead of sitting at one of the tables or joining Renee on the floor, he carried his plate outdoors. The snow from the storm had already melted on the landing from the heat of the ground. Andrew sat cross-legged on the bare stone and tucked into his breakfast. Hardly anyone was outside. He caught sight of Matt, flying high, high enough that even a seasoned dragon rider would have difficulty breathing. He couldn’t see if Matt had a rider but he assumed he wasn’t up there alone. It wasn’t long before Matt flew closer and Andrew could see Neil clinging tightly to his back.

They landed and Andrew immediately noticed three things: Matt wasn’t wearing a saddle, Neil was gasping for breath and his lips were blue with cold, and Neil was unfairly attractive.

“Idiot,” Andrew said once Neil had dismounted.

Neil looked offended for a moment, before shrugging and gesturing to Matt to follow him inside.

“Matt has a saddle,” Andrew said. “And you shouldn’t go that high when you’re not used to flying. You could pass out and fall off.”

A confused look crossed Neil’s face. “Are you...worried about me?”

“Gods no,” Andrew scoffed. “Some dragons don’t survive the loss of their riders. I was worried about Matt.”

Matt huffed and nudged Andrew in the side before snaking his neck around Neil’s waist.

“Matt says he would have caught me if I’d fallen,” Neil said.

Andrew rolled his eyes and shoved the last bread roll into his mouth whole so he wouldn’t have to dignify that with a response. He looked up and saw another dragon, flying in from the direction of the Butcher’s Island. With his enhanced sight, he could tell it was no dragon he had seen before.

“Friend of yours?” Andrew asked, gesturing to the sky.

Neil turned and squinted. It took a while for the dragon to fly close enough, but Neil soon turned back to him, face pale and hands shaking. “How did he find me already?”

“Get inside,” Andrew said, standing and shoving his plate into Neil’s arms. “I’ll take care of this.”

Neil nodded and hurried into the cave. Matt stayed beside Andrew, back arched and curving, hissing at the sky.

The other dragon was swift, landing in front of them only a short time later. He was slate grey and would hardly have been visible against an overcast sky. He had a mark similar to Kevin’s on his cheek, bearing the number three. A man climbed off and strode toward Andrew. He was taller than Andrew by about eight inches, although Andrew suspected at least three of those inches were due to his boot heels. His hair was dark and shiny, pulled back from his face and coiled into a tight bun. He was richly dressed in velvet and silk, although every piece of clothing showed both age and wear. His face was also marked, a number one in black ink.

“I would like to speak to the man in charge,” he said, haughty and imperious.

Andrew crossed his arms and said nothing.

The other man looked at him expectantly, his aloof facade showing cracks with every second that Andrew refused to do his bidding.

“You don’t want to make an enemy of me, boy.” The man spat on the ground between Andrew’s feet.

Andrew gave no ground. He was not sure what would have happened next but Wymack strode out of the cave entrance in all his intimidating glory.

The man couldn’t help pull back as Wymack got right into his face and towered over him.

“I’m in charge,” Wymack growled. “Want to tell me what you’re doing in my territory?”

The man shook himself and took a step back. He put one foot in his dragon’s stirrup and pulled himself up so he was hovering over Wymack, clinging to the side of his dragon like a child. “My name is Riko Moriyama. I would like to make an alliance.”

Wymack’s eyebrows shot up. “Like I told your father fifteen years ago, I have no intention of getting involved in his land disputes.”

“I don’t work for my father,” Riko said scornfully. “Long has he oppressed his lands, taxing his citizens far beyond their means, forcing them to provide labor and resources for his lavish lifestyle.”

Riko continued with a false humility that rubbed Andrew the wrong way, “I will be a far better leader than my father but I do not have the armies required to meet him in battle. You will be rewarded with positions and land after I have overthrown him, of course.”

Wymack gazed at him, unmoved by his offer. “I don’t need more land and I have no desire to give up my freedom to serve in any army.”

Riko’s face twisted with rage. “If you are not my ally, you are my enemy. This insult will not go unpunished.”

Wymack crossed his arms across his chest and didn’t say another word. 

“One more thing,” Riko said, swinging his leg over his dragon’s back. “I’m looking for someone. He fled the Butcher’s Castle only a few days ago. There is a reward for his return, even if it’s just his corpse, found frozen on the mountainside.”

Matt hissed again and his throat glowed bright red with suppressed flame but Wymack continued his silence, not even acknowledging that he had heard Riko speak.

Riko was forced to break the silence with a shout of frustration. He kicked his dragon hard in the flank and cursed at the clumsy way he took off.

Andrew could see scars similar to Kevin’s in the dragon’s wing membranes as they stretched out to their full length. It had been too dark for him to see the dragon that had brought Kevin down but Andrew had his suspicions.

They didn’t return inside until Riko and his dragon were far in the distance. Wymack went to find Abby while Andrew hunted for Neil. Matt seemed to know where to go so Andrew followed the dragon to find his rider.

Neil was curled up in a ball in one of the back corners of Matt’s stall. Matt immediately walked in and used his body as a barrier to keep Andrew from reaching him.

“Are you here to send me back?” Neil asked in a small voice.

“So that was your betrothed out there,” Andrew said. “Not much of a man really.”

Neil flinched at Andrew’s words and buried his face in Matt’s side. “It’s too late anyway. He’s activated the rune. In a few more days, I won’t have any choice but to return.” He stood, steadying himself against Matt, and pulled up the edge of his tunic.

Andrew hadn’t noticed the rune before, white, faded, and formless among the other scars scribbled across his torso, but now it was impossible to miss. It looked red and angry, swollen with black lines radiating out of it. Neil was hunched over on that side; Andrew could tell it was causing him pain.

“That asshole,” Andrew said darkly.

The betrothal rune was a barbaric practice, outlawed by most small governments in the land. It hadn’t been used commonly for more than 100 years. The rune was branded on brides who were considered flight risks. If they chose to run away from their betrothed, the rune was activated. A painful compulsion would slowly grow until the bride returned. Some could also be used as a locator if the bride managed to resist

“He’s a real winner, your betrothed.”

“Why do you think I ran?” Neil glared at Andrew. The rune pulsed and Neil’s body jerked toward the door of the stall. “Fuck.”

“Come with me,” Andrew said, leaving the stall, barely waiting for Neil to follow.

Abby looked up in shock as Andrew barged into the infirmary. Wymack’s brow furrowed, obviously not expecting to see him there.

“Are you hurt?” Abby asked, coming toward him, hands outstretched. He dodged her and gestured to Neil, who had entered the room behind him.

Neil clutched the hem of his tunic with white-knuckled fingers and began to back out of the room, his eyes fixed on Wymack.

“If anyone on this mountain can help you, it’s her,” Andrew said.

Neil stopped backing away but he didn’t step into the room either. He still looked unsure.

“I should go notify Bee as well,” Wymack said, moving toward the door.

Neil backed up quickly to avoid being too close to Wymack.

“Trust me,” Andrew said, stepping in front of Neil to bring his attention away from his fear and back to the situation at hand. “This is how you stop running.”

Neil didn’t completely drop his guard but he did lift his tunic just far enough to show Abby the rune.

Abby frowned as she examined it closely. “How long has it been since activation?”

“A little more than a day,” Neil admitted.

“I can see it hurts. Has it begun to pull yet?”

Neil hesitated but nodded. “Just a little. So far it’s been easy to resist.”

“Andrew, go get your brother,” Abby said. “I’ll need an extra pair of hands for this.”

Neil looked as if he wanted to follow but Abby was already pushing him back onto a narrow shelf in the rock and was muttering a list of herbs to herself.

It took Andrew some time to find Aaron. He and Katelyn had gone to gather a bioluminescent fungus that grew deep within their system of caves. The guiding runes did not extend all the way down and the two of them often took advantage of the excuse to walk arm in arm.

“Abby needs you,” Andrew said, trying to hide that he’d been rushing.

Aaron clutched Katelyn’s hand tightly and glared in the dim, blue light. “I’m busy.”

“This can’t wait.”

Aaron sighed. He brought Katelyn’s hand to his lips and whispered to her, so quietly that Andrew couldn’t make out the words.

She inclined her head and whispered back, speaking so closely her lips, unintentionally or not, brushed Aaron’s ear.

Aaron blushed bright red but didn’t pull away, a tiny, pleased smile on his face. “I need to take Katelyn back,” he said.

Andrew nodded. “I’ll meet you back in the infirmary.”

Andrew was not sure if he managed the most direct route back to Abby’s infirmary. He didn’t often have reason to be in the deepest caves. It had still been less than ten minutes by the time he met up with Aaron at the door to the infirmary.

Neil was still laying on the rock shelf. Abby had collected a number of herbs and other concoctions on a small table and was mixing something black and gooey in a large wooden bowl.

Neil’s shirt was still pulled up to expose the rune. The moment Aaron saw it, the exasperated look disappeared from his face and was replaced by fascination.

“I’ve only read about these in books.” He reached out to touch the rune and Neil violently slapped his hand away, dragging his tunic back down to cover it.

“Stop it. I’m not an animal in a menagerie.”

Abby beckoned Aaron over. “Keep stirring this for me. It can’t go still for at least another five minutes or I’ll have to start over.”

Aaron nodded and took over while Abby took up a small jar of black ink and began to draw runes in a large circle on the floor.

Neil jerked suddenly, his breath catching in his throat, and some outside force dragged him off the shelf and onto the floor.

Abby cursed. “It’s getting stronger. Andrew, I’ll need you to hold him in place for now.”

Andrew stepped forward. Neil’s face was twisted with pain and his entire body was rigid as he fought the influence of the rune. Andrew didn’t want to touch him but he didn’t really have a choice.

“Neil, can you hear me?” he asked.

Neil nodded, just once.

“I am going to help you fight it; is that okay?”

Neil nodded again and Andrew slid to the floor and pulled Neil roughly into his arms. He could feel the tension from the rune, trying to tug Neil away from him.

The black goo that Aaron was stirring now had strands of gold woven through it. As he continued to stir, the gold spread through the mixture until it was bright and shining, giving off its own light.

“It’s good,” Abby said. “You can stop stirring now, Aaron. Andrew, bring Neil and lay him down in the center of these runes.”

Andrew picked Neil up and nearly lost his balance as the rune gave another sharp tug. The moment he crossed the edge of the rune circle, the tension fell away and Neil relaxed.

Andrew set Neil down and stood above him, not sure what to do next.

“Get back,” Abby said. “I’ll do this next part myself.” She grabbed the bowl from Aaron’s arms and stepped into the circle, standing over Neil.

Neil looked exhausted, too tired to fight anymore.

Abby knelt and tugged up the hem of Neil’s tunic to expose the rune once more before spreading the golden mixture in a thick layer over his side, covering up the rune and the black lines radiating out of it.

She stepped back out of the circle and coated her hands in another layer of the mixture before holding them out over Neil and chanting in Ancient Draconic.

The light in the golden mixture grew brighter as she chanted until, with a great flash of light and the scent of brimstone, the potion vanished without a trace.

The rune on Neil’s side no longer looked red and angry; it blended back in with the extensive scarring on his torso.

Abby staggered, her legs collapsing under her in the backlash of the spell. Aaron rushed forward and caught her, guiding her to sit on the stone slab.

Andrew reached out a hand and helped Neil to his feet.

“Is that it?” Neil asked. “I thought betrothal runes were unbreakable.”

Abby looked haggard and her eyes were closing of their own accord but she forced them open, looking at Neil seriously. “I bought you a few days at most,” she said. “I deactivated it temporarily but I do not have the power to break it.”

“So we have to repeat this process every few days?” Neil asked.

Abby hesitated. “It can only be done once,” she admitted.

“Oh.” Neil looked lost. “What do I do then?”

“If you leave, fly over the sea, you may eventually be too far away for the spell to reach you,” Abby said.

“How far away would I have to be?” Neil asked.

Abby shrugged. “It’s just a theory and it’s never been proven.”

“And that’s the only way?” Neil asked.

A pang of guilt stabbed Andrew in the stomach. He had promised Neil he could stay and stop running. He hated that he already had to break his promise.

“There is one other way but most find it as distasteful as the rune itself,” Abby said. “The rune can be undone if a stronger claim is made.”

“Meaning what?” Andrew asked sharply.

“If you marry another—” Abby began.

Neil went pale. “I don’t...for how long?”

“What do you mean?” Abby asked.

“Can I get married just long enough to deactivate the rune and then get a divorce?” Neil asked.

Abby shook her head slowly. “There is power in the rune and so there must be power in the marriage as well. The only ceremony with enough magic to override the rune is the Binding.”

Andrew and Aaron gasped sharply but Neil just looked confused.

“What is the Binding?” Neil asked.

“It can only be performed between two dragon riders. You make your vows in the presence of a dragon and your promise is sealed in dragon’s fire. The ribbon binds your hands but the fire binds your soul. It cannot be broken,” Abby explained.

Neil staggered and Andrew stepped forward to catch him. “Get out,” he said coldly to Abby and Aaron.

“This is my—” Abby started.

“Get out,” Andrew said. “I won’t ask again.”

Andrew didn’t watch them leave. He was too busy focussing on the changing emotions on Neil’s face.

“What do you want to do?” Andrew asked.

“I…” Neil started before shrugging helplessly.

“I did say you could have a home here,” Andrew replied. “I don’t break promises.”

Neil looked at him with sad eyes. “It was a nice idea but I should have known it couldn’t last. We’re still far too close to Riko...to my father. I guess I’ll try running again. If Matt goes with me, I can get a lot farther than on foot,” Neil said, shoulders slumping.

Andrew nodded. “I’ll go get supplies. We should leave soon.”

“We?” Neil asked, an unidentifiable look on his face.

“I’m coming with you,” Andrew said.

“You are?” Neil’s face pinched and Andrew wasn’t sure what it meant.

Andrew nodded but didn’t explain. He didn’t have the words yet to tell Neil why. He couldn’t even really explain it to himself. He could see Neil opening his mouth to ask questions so he turned on his heel and strode from the room.

Abby was standing just outside the door. “Is he leaving?” she asked.

Andrew nodded.

“And if it doesn’t work?” She frowned at him, making deliberate eye contact.

Andrew just raised one eyebrow and walked quickly to the kitchens.

Renee was there, stirring a pot on the stove and humming lightly to herself.

“I need travel rations for two,” he said without preamble.

Renee immediately stepped away from the pot and started throwing a couple of packs together.

“Will you be travelling quickly or will you be stopping to hunt?” she asked.

“We need travel rations for three days,” Andrew said.

Renee nodded. “I heard he was marked.”

Andrew glared.

“Aaron told Katelyn,” Renee said, smirking. “And gossip travels quickly.”

Andrew sighed. “We’ll fix it.”

Renee nodded and handed him the two packs, filled efficiently and far more quickly than he could have done it himself. She hesitated for a moment.

“Wait here,” she said.

She left the kitchen and returned in a few moments, a red ribbon coiled neatly in her hands. “You’ll need this,” she said.

“I can’t take this, Renee,” Andrew tried to protest.

“You can, and you will,” Renee said gently. “It isn’t time for me to use it yet. I’m not sure if it will ever be. I’m sure I can find another before it’s my turn. And besides, what other option do you have in mind?”

“I would have thought of something,” Andrew muttered stubbornly.

“You only get to do this once,” Renee said, holding out the ribbon for him to take.

“It’s the only thing you have left from your mother,” Andrew protested.

“You’re my best friend and the only reason I’m not still on the streets fighting to survive. Let me do this for you,” Renee said.

Andrew relented and took the ribbon from her fingers. It was soft and silky; he could feel the power in it and it made the whole plan seem so much more real.

He shoved it into one of the side pockets of his pack before making his way to Matt’s stall. Aaron was there, helping Neil saddle Matt.

“Is Kevin ready to fly?” Andrew asked.

Aaron glared fiercely. “He is not. He needs at least another four days before he can and even then, he should be restricted to short flights until his wing is fully healed.”

Andrew winced. “I need to talk to him before we leave. Can you be ready in ten minutes?” he asked Neil.

Neil nodded, but he looked uncertain. “You should stay with your dragon. I can go alone.”

“If it doesn’t work, what will you do?” Andrew snapped.

“What do you mean?” Neil asked.

“If the rune reactivates and you have not reached the limit of the spell, what will you do? Will you return and marry Riko?” Andrew asked, taking a step forward into Neil’s personal space, ignoring Matt’s warning growl. Aaron glared at Andrew and retreated to Kevin’s stall.

“I don’t know. I can’t even think about it; it has to work,” Neil said, stepping back until he was leaning on Matt.

“If it doesn’t, we’ll perform the Binding ceremony.” Andrew crossed his arms.

Neil’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t even know me.”

Andrew shrugged. “I saved your life on the mountain. It seems an awful waste to just send you back to your...betrothed.”

“But you’ll be bound to me,” Neil protested. “You won’t be able to back out. What if you want to marry someone else?”

Andrew laughed without humour. “Unlikely. Besides, if it ever becomes a real inconvenience, I’ll just kill you.”

That, strangely, made Neil’s tense shoulders drop in relief. “Fine,” he said. “But only if we can’t get far enough away.”

“Obviously,” Andrew replied. “Wait for me out front. I’ll be there shortly.”

Neil nodded and turned back to Matt to finish preparing for travel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art for this chapter was created by @flightyfoxart on Tumblr.

Andrew walked down the hallway to Kevin’s stall, unsure how his new dragon would react to being left behind so soon after finding each other.

“I have to go on a trip,” Andrew said, deciding that simple and blunt was probably the best way to break the news.

Kevin nodded and pulled himself to his feet, testing his wing carefully. “Is it far?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Andrew replied. “I may be gone as long as a week.”

Kevin winced visibly. “Short flights only?”

Andrew shook his head. “Speed is important,” he said.

Kevin dropped his head and tested his wing again. “I will do my best,” he promised. “But I am not sure if my wing will hold.”

Andrew blinked and thought back through their conversation. “I’m leaving you behind,” he said. “I know you cannot fly.”

If anything, Kevin looked even more distressed at that news. “I won’t complain,” he insisted. “I can still be useful.”

“I’m leaving you behind _to heal_ ,” Andrew stressed. “I will be back in a week and will start taking you on short flights then to strengthen your wing.” He paused, trying to choose his words so Kevin wouldn’t misunderstand. “You have a place here now, even if you never fly again.”

Kevin nearly collapsed to the floor in relief. “Can this wait until I’ve healed?” he asked.

“It cannot,” Andrew replied. “My brother will see you are well treated.”

Kevin looked as if he wanted to argue.

Andrew was not good with words and he was out of practice with dragon communication since he had lost Embre, but he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Kevin’s nose, trying to impart reassurance and calm.

Kevin relaxed. “Be safe,” he said.

Andrew nodded and left, making his way out of the cave to where Neil waited. He looked nervous and jittery, anxious to get into the sky and as far away as possible. Andrew was sure if he had taken even a little longer, Neil would have left without him.

“Can you still sense Riko with the rune?” Andrew asked.

Neil shook his head but pointed southeast. “When the connection was broken, he was in that direction.”

Andrew nodded. “We will fly northwest.”

It took them a few moments to get settled, Neil on the front of the saddle with Andrew behind him, close enough to hear each other over the rushing wind but not close enough to touch.

Most of the people in Dragon’s Flight had gathered to see them off but they kept their distance. Only Aaron had come close enough to say goodbye.

“Be safe,” Aaron said. He opened his mouth as if to say more but he just shrugged instead.

Andrew nodded, understanding his brother’s actions even if the words weren’t there. He could see the tense set of Neil’s shoulders and knew the man was ready to fly. “Let’s go,” he said softly.

Neil took a deep breath and Matt crouched and sprung off the ground, catching himself with jet black wings in a jolt that stole Andrew’s breath.

The first day of flight was spent mostly in silence. It had been a long time since Andrew had spent so much time on the back of a dragon. The last time he had been on Arden, wrapped up in his brother’s arms and trapped in the misery of grief.

It took a long time for Neil to relax even a little but the more uneventful hours spent in the saddle, the calmer he became.

It was a beautiful day for flying. It was less than an hour before they flew out of the mountains and over the ocean. The air was warm once they descended and the sun was shining with just enough cloud cover that they weren’t blinded by the reflection off the sea. The sea winds were perfect for Matt to glide for long distances, only flapping his wings occasionally if their altitude dropped too low.

“Do we need to stop for the night?” Neil asked when the sun dipped toward the horizon. A small island was below them, the first land they’d seen in hours.

“It’s better if we don’t stop for too long,” Andrew said. “We can take a small break, but Matt does not need the rest and we want to get as far away as possible.”

They landed long enough to fill their empty water skins and relieve themselves before they climbed back in Matt’s saddle and took off once more.

Neil fidgeted in his seat, stealing small glances back at Andrew and looking away when Andrew met his eyes.

“What?” Andrew finally asked.

“I don’t want to get married,” Neil said.

“Obviously.” Andrew gestured to their general surroundings. “That’s why we’re here instead of picking out flower arrangements.”

“I mean ever,” Neil said. “It’s not just you or Riko. I never want to marry anybody.”

“I could still kill you,” Andrew said, deadpan.

Neil laughed and the brightness transformed his face for a brief moment. Andrew had already found him attractive but like this, he was breathtaking. “I guess I don’t know for sure that dying is preferable to marriage with a stranger.”

“If you hate it, the marriage, you can always die later. But you can’t really go the other way. I don’t know a lot of necromancers and even I might object to being married to a literal corpse,” Andrew said, his eyes wandering over the water so he couldn’t see how Neil’s eye’s glowed in the fading light of the setting sun.

Neil laughed. “You are preferable to Riko.”

“So glad to know I’m at least a little more tolerable than the asshole who branded you,” Andrew huffed.

Neil felt his side with careful fingers, the smile dropping off his face. He sighed shakily and dropped his head into his hands.

“It’s not reactivating early, is it?” Andrew asked.

“No.” Neil shook his head. “It feels like just another scar.”

“You have...a few of those,” Andrew said, suddenly feeling awkward. He was glad that the sun was nearly gone and the stars were beginning to appear above them. Serious conversations were always easier under the cover of darkness.

Neil laughed but Andrew could detect a note of bitterness. “I’ve never really been able to hold on to the illusion of choice. I had to learn to use a knife or the knife would be used on me. Any attempt to stray from the path my father set for me was met with violence. The betrothal rune is cruel but it’s no more cruel than…” he trailed off.

Like the moment he had seen Neil’s scars, Andrew felt he was seeing something he wasn’t meant to see and he knew there was only one way to restore equal footing.

“I know how it feels to be without choices,” Andrew said hoarsely, barely loud enough to be heard over the sound of Matt’s wing beats.

Neil shifted closer and Andrew realized he was shivering as the night had begun to grow cool.

“Andrew, you don’t have to tell me anything.”

“A truth for a truth,” Andrew said.

Neil shifted even closer, his heat a brand against Andrew’s chest. He nodded.

Andrew waited for a question but when one wasn’t forthcoming, he continued. “When I was born, my mother made the choice to keep my brother and give me away.”

“Your brother?” Neil asked. “But—”

“I was found by Nicky when I was twelve years old. But those first years were spent with people who didn’t love me,” Andrew said.

“I think my mother loved me once,” Neil replied. “But not enough to stay with me. I remember her singing to me when I was a child. My father rarely let me see her and he was always far more cruel after her visits. I was seven when she jumped from a tower and left me behind.”

“I had another dragon.” A thick lump rose in his throat. He hadn’t spoken of her in so long. He was used to people dancing around his grief, leaving him in silence. “Her name was Embre. She was the first one I allowed to love me.”

Neil shuddered. He leaned forward, bracing his hand on Matt’s neck. Andrew knew what he was feeling. The act of bonding with a dragon was a profound change, to go from being alone to having someone at his side who knew and loved everything about him. Neil and Matt may have only bonded a few days before, but the thought of breaking that bond would already be intolerable.

“How did she…?” Neil’s voice broke. “How did she die?”

“Killed by another dragon and her rider,” Andrew said, shifting back to put some space between Neil and himself, even as the night grew colder.

Neil didn’t push and Andrew didn’t offer any more. Eventually Neil slumped back against Andrew in exhaustion and they slept as Matt flew on.

* * *

The next day passed slowly. Sometimes they spoke; more often they flew in silence. They stopped twice more but urgency would not let them linger.

The clear skies from the day before gave way to grey clouds and heavy drizzle soaked them to the bone. Andrew would have suggested stopping to find shelter but Neil had begun to squirm in discomfort and press against his brand with trembling hands.

“Is it getting worse?” Andrew asked after Neil jerked violently and clung to Matt’s saddle.

“It’s burning,” Neil admitted. “And it just started to pull again.”

“Tell Matt to look for somewhere to land,” Andrew said.

“No,” Neil objected, nearly shouting. “No. Surely if we make it just a little farther.”

The rain started falling in earnest, big heavy drops, and the rumble of distant thunder sounded. Lightning lit up the sky ahead of them and the clouds grew even darker. Matt was fighting harder to fly against the wind and the sea below grew rougher.

“We’re flying into a storm,” Andrew raised his voice to be heard over the wind. “Matt won’t be able to keep this up for much longer. We need to land.”

Neil turned to look at Andrew, the desperation on his face lit up for a split second by a bolt of lightning. “I won’t take another choice from you,” he shouted.

Thunder rumbled again, much closer. The storm was rising fast.

“You’re not,” Andrew said. “I could have let you go alone. When I got on this dragon with you, I made my choice.”

Lightning struck the water, far too close, and whatever Neil said in reply was lost as thunder cracked.

Matt was buffeted sideways by a strong gust of wind and for a heartstopping moment, they were falling out of the sky. Matt managed to regain his wings before they hit the water. Andrew grasped Neil around the waist and Neil gripped his hands tightly, shaking like a leaf.

“Fuck,” Andrew said, peering through streaming water, looking for somewhere safe. Even his enhanced sight couldn’t see anything but wind and water. Lightning struck again and he was blinded, an imprint glowing in his vision even though the bolt was gone.

Matt howled and dove and Andrew realized gratefully that a mountain rose from the sea, likely an extinct volcano.

Matt was faltering and his landing was less than graceful as he found the opening of a cave on the side of the mountain.

Neil and Andrew clung to each other, shivering, as Andrew continued to blink away the imprint of the lightning on his retinas.

Eventually, they managed to climb down. It was dark in the cave. They couldn’t see anything other than the continuous strikes of lightning through the sheet of water that rushed over the cave’s entrance.

Matt ventured out into the rain and came back dragging a tree branch. It was too wet to light so Matt crouched on his haunches and breathed out, heat but no flame, until the wood was dry. Neil and Andrew plastered themselves to his side, trying to soak up warmth from the dragon’s scales.

With shaking hands, Andrew broke the wood into pieces and Matt breathed fire over them until they caught.

Neil dug through their packs, looking for dry clothes, but everything had been soaked through. He set about draping their clothing over Matt’s back, trying to get it to dry faster. His lips were turning blue and his eyes were unfocused and dazed by the time he finished.

“Take your clothes off,” Andrew said, discomfort making his voice gruff.

“What?” Neil stepped back.

“You need to warm up and that wet clothing isn’t doing you any favors.” Andrew turned his back. “I won’t look.”

He heard Neil shuffling around behind him and resisted the urge to look back as he stripped himself efficiently out of his own clothing.

“Um…” Neil cleared his throat nervously. “Now what.”

Matt reached out with his wing and pulled them both into his side. The heat from his scales felt almost hot enough to burn. Andrew stumbled backward, blushing furiously as he collided with bare skin, still cold and damp from the storm.

“Uh…” Neil’s voice sounded strained. “Matt says body heat is best.”

Andrew didn’t think he could blush any harder but he was proved wrong. “I’ll keep my eyes closed.”

Matt pulled them in tighter so they were cocooned by his wing and they awkwardly shuffled around until Neil’s back was pressed tightly to Andrew’s chest. Andrew willed himself not to react.

“Now I guess you’ll have to marry me,” Neil teased.

Andrew stilled, not sure if Neil expected him to respond.

Neil squeaked but didn’t say anything more.

It was awkward until it wasn’t. Slowly, they began to warm up and Neil relaxed into Andrew’s arms. Andrew had never been one for cuddling. He much preferred for his partners to go their separate ways. He couldn’t be sure why it was different with Neil, but he could hold him and he didn’t feel like he was about to crawl out of his skin.

As they got warmer, Andrew started getting drowsy and he felt safe enough to drift off into sleep.

When he woke, Neil was whimpering and his skin was radiating heat. Andrew could smell burnt flesh and a red glow emanated from Neil’s side. The betrothal rune had reactivated while they slept and it was already stronger than it had been before Abby’s spell.

Neil struggled to get away, the rune jerking him toward the cave entrance.

Matt lifted his wing away and Andrew pulled Neil to his feet and turned him in his arms without letting go. Neil looked unfocused, desperate to obey the call of the rune on his side.

Andrew reached out with his foot to snag the strap of his pack and pulled Renee’s handfasting ribbon from the pocket. He bound his wrist to Neil’s and watched as Neil slowly came back to himself.

“What?” Neil looked scared and lost.

“We didn’t get far enough away,” Andrew said. “The rune has reactivated.”

“Oh,” Neil said. “It’s only been two days.”

“Abby could only guess,” Andrew said, shrugging.

“It was so strong,” Neil said. “I thought it was going to tear me in half. Why did it stop?”

Andrew lifted their bound hands in answer.

“Ah,” Neil said. “I suppose tying our hands together forever isn’t a feasible solution.”

Andrew snorted. “I might want to use this hand later.”

Neil nodded. He looked down and his face went white. He turned away sharply, covering himself with his free hand. “I don’t suppose we can get clothed first,” he said in a strangled voice.

Andrew could feel his face heating and he turned away as well. Their clothes were dry and warm after being spread over Matt’s scales. It was impossible to put shirts on without untying the ribbon that joined them but Andrew had never been so grateful for pants in his life.

Once they were somewhat clothed, they turned back to face each other.

“I guess it’s time,” Neil said, his face pale and his hands shaking.

“I will not do this without your consent,” Andrew said. “We can try flying on, see if this ribbon will work long enough to get out of range of the spell. I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking away your choices.”

Neil squared his shoulders and stood firm. He took a deep breath and visibly calmed. “You’re not. The choices I want to make are to stop running and to keep living. You’re giving me the opportunity to do that.”

Andrew took a deep breath. “If you need to think about it—”

“I don’t,” Neil cut him off. “I’m ready.”

Matt heaved himself to his feet and placed his head between them so their bound hands rested on it. The ribbon itself began to glow lightly, stitched in runes becoming visible along its length.

Normally, Andrew would not be able to hear the voice of a dragon he was not bonded with but he could hear Matt’s voice echoing in his mind.

“Andrew, will you be Neil’s partner for life?”

“I will,” Andrew said.

“Neil, will you be Andrew’s partner for life?”

“I will,” Neil said.

“Will you be each other’s true and constant friends?”

“We will,” they said together, Neil’s voice coming slightly after Andrew’s.

“So the first binding is made.”

The cord brightened. Andrew picked up one end of the ribbon with his free hand and wrapped it again around their bound wrists.

“Andrew, will you stand with Neil in times of joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, in want and plenty?”

“I will.”

“Neil, will you stand with Andrew in times of joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, in want and plenty?”

“I will.”

“Will you share each other’s burdens as you travel through life together?”

“We will.” It was Andrew’s turn to echo Neil.

“And so the second binding is made.”

The cord brightened once more. Neil picked up the other end of the ribbon and wrapped it around their bound wrists.

“Andrew, will you be honest and open with Neil, as long as you both shall live?”

“I will,” Andrew said, his voice cracking as he felt the weight of his promise settle onto his shoulders.

“Neil, will you be honest and open with Andrew, as long as you both shall live?”

“I will,” Neil said, meeting Andrew’s eyes for the first time since the ceremony had begun.

“Will you treat each other with respect and dignity, honoring the integrity of this bond?”

“We will.” They spoke in perfect unison.

“And so the third binding is made. You are bound not by ribbon but by your vows you make this day.” Matt pulled back and opened his mouth, fire glowing in the back of his throat.

Andrew braced himself as fire engulfed their bound hands. It did not burn; the flames flowed like water around them, dancing on their skin.

Andrew looked at Neil, mesmerized by the flames licking at his hair and reflected in his blue eyes. Neil looked back at him, a confused sort of wonder written on his face.

The flames died down and Andrew looked at their hands. A ribbon no longer bound them together. Where it had lain, a band of fading gold runes sunk into the skin around their wrists. Andrew was ready to feel suffocated by the knowledge that he was now bound to Neil by cords that could not be broken, but instead he felt a curious sort of relief, like a piece of his life that he’d always been missing had turned up and made itself at home.

Neil chuckled nervously. Even though their hands were free, he didn’t let go and step away. “Are we meant to kiss?” he asked nervously.

“Many do but it is not necessary. The binding is complete without it,” Andrew said.

“Oh,” Neil replied. Andrew couldn’t tell if he was relieved or disappointed.

“Do you...want to kiss me?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t know if I want to kiss anyone,” Neil admitted. “And I want to know that...about myself. I think if I wanted to kiss anyone, it might be you.”

Andrew’s breath caught in his throat. He stepped forward slowly, giving Neil plenty of time to react, to pull away if he wanted to. He stopped a foot away, close enough to feel Neil’s breath on his face but still far enough they weren’t touching. He clasped his hands behind his back and Neil followed suit without asking why.

Andrew leaned forward slightly and Neil came halfway to meet him. The press of their lips, when it came, was gentle, soft, one point of contact with no expectation of more.

Neil made a soft sound in his throat and pressed closer, deepening the kiss, and Andrew met him with equal fervor.

By the time he pulled away, they’re both breathing hard and Neil looked dazed.

“Wow,” Neil whispered. “I think I would like to do that again.”

Andrew swayed back toward him without making that conscious choice but Neil stepped back.

“Not…” Neil took a deep breath. “Not right now. But sometime. Someday I’ll kiss you again.”

“You don’t have to,” Andrew said urgently. “That’s not why I married you. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Neil smiled softly, genuinely. “I know.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have reached the end! Thank you to all of you who have been reading and commenting through posting! I really appreciate the encouragement. Thanks again to @c-dragon-art and @flightyfoxart for the incredible art you created. I love it a lot and it really brought my story to life.

They stopped more frequently on their way back, the urgency of their outward journey replaced by a desire to get to know each other a little more before returning to the curious faces at Dragon’s Flight.

They only had travel rations for three days so short days of flying were punctuated by leisurely breaks to catch fish and sleep curled up under Matt’s wing. Andrew had made a promise not to push Neil when it came to anything physical but when the evening grew cool and their bellies were full of fire roasted fish and fresh fruit, they naturally gravitated toward each other.

Andrew had never really liked kissing and had put up with it as a necessary evil leading to the main event but with Neil, he was perfectly content to take it slow, to methodically lick the sticky sweet taste of pineapple and mangos out of his mouth until all he could taste was Neil, and never move on to more.

Neil was enthusiastic once he got over his shyness, willingly falling into Andrew’s arms and kissing as if his world began and ended in Andrew’s mouth.

It was only the guilt of leaving Kevin for so long that kept Andrew from trying to drag out their journey indefinitely.

By the time they landed at the peak of the mountain, people had gathered to meet them. Nicky was in tears and clinging on to Erik. He only slipped out of his arms once Matt had landed and then he started running to meet Andrew.

Andrew did not manage to avoid the hug and was forced to experience the frankly embarrassing display of Nicky’s love.

No one else stepped forward but Andrew could see the curious stares. He sighed and reached out to grasp Neil’s right hand. At the contact, the hidden runes at their wrists glowed brightly, answering their main question in one quick display.

“We will answer no other questions,” Andrew said, glaring at anyone who even looked like they might be planning to open their mouths. He dragged Neil by their clasped hands to Kevin’s stall.

Kevin was sleeping. His wing was no longer bound and Andrew could not sense more than a lingering ache through their bond. Aaron had done a good job.

“Kevin,” Andrew said. “Wake up.”

Kevin stretched lazily, blinking slow, puffing smoke into their faces. ”I’m napping.”

There is a strange sort of petulance in his answer that Andrew hadn’t expected. “Are you mad at me?”

“You said you were only going to be gone a week,” Kevin grumbled. Dragon’s couldn’t pout but Kevin was making a valiant effort to do so.

“I said hopefully I’d only be gone a week,” Andrew said, exasperated.

Kevin huffed. ”I want to fly.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Fine, in a bit. Let me get Neil settled first.”

Kevin lifted his head and sniffed at them both. ”You’ve bonded,” he said.

Andrew’s face flushed red and he nodded.

”Why?” Kevin asked.

Andrew opened his mouth to reply but realized he wasn’t sure exactly how to answer the question. “We will speak later,” he said. He hadn’t let go of Neil’s wrist and he used a light pressure to guide him out into the hallway.

They returned Matt to his stall first, cleaning and polishing his saddle, checking for any problems after their long flight, feeding him a proper meal of red meat after days of fish.

Once that was completed, Andrew wasn’t sure what to do next.

“Should I...move my things?” Neil asked.

Andrew thought about it, considered making room for Neil in his lonely space. He didn’t hate the idea.

“Not yet,” he said.

Neil’s eyes showed a mix of disappointment and relief.

“We don’t need to rush into anything,” Andrew continued. “We have lots of time.”

Neil nodded. He swayed closer to Andrew as if pulled by some strange gravity but caught himself at the last moment and stepped back out of reach. “Good...that’s good. I don’t want—”

“I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to,” Andrew promised.

“It’s not that,” Neil protested. “I like it. I really like it. You can kiss me every day if you want to.”

Something burned, deep in Andrew’s core at the admission. “Every day?”

Neil blushed. “No one has ever touched me like you do,” he whispered.

Andrew looked at him in consideration before reaching out with his right hand. He gave Neil plenty of time to move away but that same gravity pulled them together. Andrew kept his touch feather light, tracing Neil’s cheekbones with just the tips of his fingers. He dragged his pointer finger down the bridge of Neil’s delicate nose and then cradled his cheek in the palm of his hand, dragging his thumb gently over Neil’s lower lip.

Neil shivered and took a step closer.

Andrew slowly, deliberately, pressed their mouths together, swallowing Neil’s gasp of pleasure. Neil melted into him, hands hovering inches away but not touching.

Andrew let go of Neil’s face and placed Neil’s hands in his hair before walking Neil back and pressing him against the wall without breaking contact between their mouths.

The world was spinning lazily around Andrew by the time he stepped back. “Can you find your way to your room?”

Neil nodded, dazed, his swollen lips tempting Andrew to kiss him again.

“I should take Kevin out but I’ll meet you for supper,” Andrew said.

Neil nodded again and left. Andrew resisted the urge to watch him go and returned to Kevin’s stall.

“Took you long enough,” Kevin grumbled.

Kevin’s wing had healed well. Someone, most likely Aaron, had been working with him while Andrew was gone and although it was stiff and sore it was fully mobile.

Andrew led him through some flight maneuvers, designed to put his wing through it’s full range of motion without putting too much strain on the newly healed membranes.

Andrew expected Kevin to ask him about Neil but it seemed no questions were forthcoming.

“I like him,” Andrew said once he’d finished putting Kevin through his paces. “I didn’t expect to.”

Kevin rumbled underneath him. “Because he’s broken?” he asked bitterly. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you have a type.”

Andrew glared even though Kevin wasn’t looking at him. “Because he isn’t. Someone put their best effort into breaking him and he’s still…” Andrew couldn’t find a word to explain but Kevin seemed to understand him anyway. Andrew could sense a grudging approval filtering through their bond.

Andrew placed his hands, fingers spread wide, over the back of Kevin’s neck. “But you’re right; I do have a type.”

Kevin snorted, smoke billowing back and hitting Andrew in the face.

“We should get back,” Andrew said once he could breathe again without coughing. Kevin prepared to turn but, as he did so, Andrew caught sight of two specks against the sky, moving and growing quickly: two dragons and their riders.

Kevin faltered, wings growing clumsy for just a moment. “No, no, no, no, no.”

“Do you recognize them?” Andrew asked.

Fine tremors ran through Kevin’s body and they dropped a few feet in the air as his wings lost coordination. Nothing but incoherent fear came through their bond.

Andrew tipped forward, pressing his forehead to Kevin’s scales. “Don’t panic. Fly home,” he said, trying to break through the panic.

Kevin began to fly faster toward Dragon’s Flight but his fear had cost them time. The two dragons had flown close enough to identify. The first was slate gray and belonged to Neil’s former betrothed, and the second was pulled straight from Andrew’s nightmares. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been lit by a torrent of flame, blood dripping from her teeth as she destroyed something irreplaceable.

“Faster,” Andrew said, heart rabbiting in his chest.

Kevin obeyed, roaring loudly in warning. Andrew only hoped someone was listening and would know what it meant.

They weren’t fast enough. Kevin tried but his wing was failing him. Riko’s dragon hit Kevin like a battering ram, trying to knock him out of the sky.

Kevin clawed back frantically, heart beating so fast it was making Andrew lightheaded. A wave of nausea hit Andrew as Kevin rolled away, trying to escape.

Riko was relentless. There was something off about the dragon he was riding, a blankness behind the eyes and a complete disregard for its own safety, repeatedly putting itself in the way of Kevin’s teeth and claws in order to tear and rend.

“I told you that you didn’t want to make an enemy of me,” Riko shouted at him. “Return my betrothed and I won’t have to kill you and destroy your home.”

“I don’t have your betrothed,” Andrew growled.

“He was seen returning here on the back of a big black dragon,” Riko snarled.

“I don’t belong to you anymore.” Matt came flying in from below, Neil on his back, knocking Riko away from Kevin and Andrew.

Andrew allowed himself to feel a moment of pure relief as Kevin dove, fleeing from Riko and his dragon.

He looked back to see if Neil was following only to find that Drake had joined the battle and Neil was being attacked from two sides.

“We have to go back,” Andrew said.

“I can’t,” Kevin gasped.

Neil screamed above them and Andrew felt fire in his shoulder. Neil was injured.

“Kevin, I’m begging you,” Andrew shouted. “I can’t let Drake take anyone else from me.”

Kevin spread his wings out wide, halting his descent, and drove forcefully upward. Matt was entangled with Grelda while Riko held back, a sick grin twisting his face.

It was Kevin’s turn to attack from below. Andrew felt a thrill of triumph as Riko’s mask slipped, the sadistic light in his eyes flickering and giving way to fear.

“Jean,” Andrew could hear Kevin calling to the other dragon. “Break free of him. We don’t have to fight.”

The other dragon remained blank, attacking fiercely without rage or hatred. Kevin could not keep up the ferocity. He was bleeding heavily from several scores along his flank and some of Jean’s bites had punctured his still-healing wing membrane.

Andrew wished for his bow as he helplessly clung to Kevin’s back. Thankfully, Riko seemed to have no intent to pull out the sword at his side and join the battle.

All it took was one moment. Kevin reacted just a second too slowly and Jean’s jaws closed around Kevin’s neck, one tear from spilling his lifeblood all over the mountain.

They remained, locked in a stalemate. All Kevin could do was try to fly in sync.

“Return with me now, Neil, and I’ll let them go,” Riko shouted.

The sound of the other battle cut out immediately.

“Andrew,” Neil yelled.

Andrew looked over at him, too far to make eye contact, but close enough to see the way he clutched his left arm tight to his chest, blood streaming from a wound high on his shoulder.

“No,” Andrew shouted back. “Don’t worry about me. Don’t let him take you.”

Drake tried to fly a little closer to Neil and Matt snapped viciously to keep Grelda away.

Blood welled up from shallow punctures in Kevin’s neck as Jean’s jaw gripped tighter.

“Jean,” Riko said. “Kill.”

Suddenly, Andrew wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t in the cold air of a sunny day. He was in the stable again, choked by ash and smoke, and Embre was sheltering him with her body. He screamed in fresh agony as her throat was torn out again and he failed to stop it.

“I’m here, love,” she said. “I’m always here.”

He opened his eyes and he was back in the sky over Dragon’s Flight. “Jean,” he said, reaching with every piece of his soul, the piece that was connected to Kevin, the piece that was bound to Neil, the piece that would never let go of Embre, and Jean heard him.

Life flooded back into Jean’s eyes. He spit Kevin’s neck out with distaste and took two powerful wing beats, driving him up and away from them both.

Riko screeched in wordless fury. He pulled his sword and began whipping Jean with the flat, trying to get him to continue attacking.

Rage filled Jean’s eyes and he began clawing at his own sides, trying to reach the straps of his saddle, uncaring that he was injuring himself. He managed to grasp Riko’s leg and drag him out of the saddle, dangling him far above the mountainside.

“No, no,” Riko screamed, trying to climb back into the saddle.

Jean shook him viciously to shut him up before dropping him head first onto the mountain below.

Drake dove after him on Grelda but the rest of Dragon’s Flight had finally arrived. Aaron attacked without mercy, Arden diving and landing on top of them, tearing Drake apart with his claws.

The moment the light left Drake’s eyes, Grelda let out a great cry and plummeted to the ground. She hadn’t survived the loss of her rider.

Andrew flopped over, trembling and clinging to Kevin’s neck. The punctures from Jean’s teeth were bleeding freely but not heavily.

“Andrew, can you make it back?” Aaron called as Arden matched Kevin’s wing beats.

“I can make it,” Kevin said. He was weakened and in pain but Jean had not done any permanent damage this time.

Allison and Renee were riding Dan together and they were guiding Neil toward home. Andrew wanted to go to him but knew it would have to wait until after they landed.

Jean was still flying behind him. When Andrew turned to look, he could see hopelessness in the dragon’s eyes.

“Tell Jean to follow,” Andrew said to Kevin. “We won’t punish him for Riko’s faults.”

Kevin sighed in relief and dropped back to fly beside Jean.

By the time they all landed on the peak, Andrew’s legs were shaking and he was ready to sleep for a week.

Abby met them at the entrance of the cave and she and Aaron immediately began to triage the dragons.

Jean curled up at first, unwilling to let anyone close, but as soon as Renee climbed off Dan, he craned his neck, sniffing the air.

Renee looked around, puzzled for a moment, before following her feet to Jean’s bloodied form.

A soft look spread across her face and she knelt in front of Jean, pressing her forehead to his nose and gently stroking his scales with her hands.

Jean relaxed then and allowed Abby to check his wounds.

Andrew didn’t leave Kevin until his wounds were bound and he was resting in his stall. Matt hadn’t been severely injured so he was sleeping when Andrew stumbled down the hall to where he was kept. Neil was nowhere to be found.

Andrew was a little disappointed but if Neil wanted to be alone, he would respect that. His feet dragged as he made his way back to his room.

The lamp was lit when he opened the door. Neil was curled up on the floor beside his bed, fast asleep. His wound hadn’t been seen to and the blood on his shirt had dried and stuck to his skin.

Andrew wanted to let him sleep but he didn’t want to undress him or bandage his wounds while he wasn’t aware of it. He knelt on the floor beside Neil and reached out a gentle hand to shake him awake.

Neil gasped and flinched away, wincing in pain at the pull on his wounds, but the moment he recognized Andrew, all tension left his body. He smiled, soft and sweet and unguarded.

“Sorry,” Neil said. “I know you didn’t want me to move in yet, but I wanted…”

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” Andrew asked gruffly.

“There is only one bed,” Neil replied, brow furrowing. “I didn’t want to assume…”

Andrew rolled his eyes and reached out a hand to help Neil up before moving him to sit on the bed.

“Stay there,” Andrew said before rushing out of his room to the infirmary. He was back in a few minutes with bandages, needle and thread, and antiseptic. Neil was still sitting where he had left him, swaying slightly and blinking slowly.

“I want to treat your wounds, yes or no?” Andrew asked.

Neil nodded and moved to pull his shirt off. He winced before he could pull it over his head and Andrew stepped forward to remove it the rest of the way. The wound wasn’t bad; it looked like Grelda had only just caught him with the tip of one claw.

Andrew wasn’t a healer like Aaron, but he had sewn himself together enough that he knew how to deal with a simple scratch like this. His stitches were a little on the clumsy side but they would hold. Andrew had the sense that Neil didn’t want anyone else to see him like this.

Neil was shaking by the time he was done and Andrew pulled back, putting two feet of space between them. Neil wrinkled his brow, swaying in Andrew’s direction like he wanted to follow. He made no move to put his shirt back on, leaving his scars on display.

“Are you curious?” Neil finally broke the silence.

“It doesn’t matter,” Andrew said quickly.

“They’re ugly,” Neil said, looking down at himself in disgust.

“They are,” Andrew said, finally letting himself really look. Neil’s chest and back were a patchwork of scars. Some of them were burns, others looked like they were made by knives or whips. The remainder of the betrothal rune was raised and twisted. “But you’re not. You don’t have to be what they made you.”

Neil smiled. His eyes were bright and shining and it made Andrew want to look away, unable to bear how it made him feel, flayed open and laid bare.

Neil reached out slowly and grasped Andrew’s hand. He dragged it closer and pressed it firmly over the rune. Andrew followed, letting Neil reel him in until his world narrowed to the warmth under his palm and Neil’s breath on his skin.

“You can kiss me,” Neil whispered.

Andrew stopped holding himself back and lowered them both to the bed, giving himself over to addictive rhythm and intoxicating heat. Someday soon, they might have to face the consequences of today’s events. He had stolen the Butcher’s heir and killed the disgraced Moriyama son. Dragon’s Flight may no longer be able to remain above the conflicts of the outside world. But for now, he had Neil in his arms, the wounds of his past were beginning to heal, and that was enough.


End file.
